GEORGE GASCĂN JOINS FAITH LEADERS IN CALLING FOR AN END TO THE DEATH PENALTY
More Than 110 Los Angeles Area Faith Leaders Delivered a Letter Urging DA Jackie Lacey to Stop Seeking Death Sentences
LOS ANGELES â Today, local faith leaders from across Los Angeles stood on the steps of the District Attorneyâs Office to demand an end to the death penalty. With the signatures of over 110 faith leaders, the letter delivered to DA Jackie Lacey highlighted the broad-based opposition to the inequality and immorality of state sanctioned killings. George GascĂłn, the former District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, and a former Assistant Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), released this response in support:
âThe death penalty is broken beyond repair, and its continued use by LA’s District Attorney suggests she is more concerned with punishment than safety and justice.â said George GascĂłn. âIt does not deter crime, there’s a risk the state will kill an innocent person, and the 22 people she has condemned to death row are costing taxpayers approximately $4,400,000 more per year than a sentence of life without parole. I stand with the faith community, there is simply no objective way to justify the continued use of the death penalty.”
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George GascĂłn grew up in Los Angeles and is a former police officer and Assistant Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. He served as Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona, one of the countryâs most conservative cities, and later served as Chief of Police in one of the most progressive cities, San Francisco. In 2011, he was appointed to the position of San Francisco District Attorney, where he oversaw violent crime rates that reached historic lows. After being elected to two terms, GascĂłn returned to Los Angeles to care for his elderly mother and be closer to his two daughters and grandchildren. He is currently running for Los Angeles District Attorney.
For more information about George GascĂłn go to www.GeorgeGascon.org.