Los Angeles DA George Gascon backtracks on progressive reforms in late Friday news dump

It looks like Los Angeles DA George Gascon heard about the results of the San Francisco school board recall. Gascon who has been under pressure since day one of his term suddenly had a change of heart this week which was announced late Friday in the hours usually reserved for embarrassing news dumps.
FRIDAY NEWS DUMP: L.A. D.A. George Gascon is backtracking on his policies barring juveniles from being tried as adults and banning the use of life sentences against defendants, according to memos bouncing around the office this evening. Story coming ASAP.
— James Queally (@JamesQueallyLAT) February 19, 2022

And here’s the promised story from the LA Times:
When he first took office in late 2020, Gascón made waves by immediately banning prosecutors from seeking the death penalty or life sentences without the possibility of parole, while also severely limiting the way prosecutors could use sentencing enhancements and ending the practice of trying juveniles as adults.
Although the moves were in line with the broader platform of restorative justice Gascón ran on, critics have decried the so-called blanket policies and demanded he consider trying juveniles as adults or seeking life sentences when defendants are accused of especially heinous conduct.
That moment came late Friday. Committees will be created to evaluate “extraordinary” …

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