Imperfect Paradise: District Attorney Gascón: Part 1

California Love

LAist Studios

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4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Voters elected Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón in 2020 on his promises to undo decades of mass incarceration, tackle what many viewed as excessive prison sentences, and to generally create a fairer system. LAist Civics & Democracy Correspondent Frank Stoltze explores the criminal justice system Gascón set out to change. He examines decades-old practices and the impact on the people imprisoned through the case of Jose Santana. Santana ended up being sentenced to 22 years in adult prison for robbing two kids of their cellphones when he was 15.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	L. Aest and Show and Tell present an evening with David Sedaris.
0:04.0	The writer, humorist, and radio contributor will take the stage Saturday, November 16th at the United
0:09.4	Theater on Broadway. Tickets and information at LAS.com
0:13.0	slash events.
0:16.0	Wondering who's spending money to sway your vote this election season,
0:19.0	we've got you covered with Make It Makes Sense,
0:22.0	our elections newsletter.
0:23.4	Sign up at LAS.com slash vote.
0:26.1	We'll help you follow the money in specific races and break down what it all means.
0:31.2	This is imperfect paradise, the show about the gap between the dream and reality.
0:37.3	I'm Antonia Crejido. This past March was my first time covering an election. It was a primary election here in Los Angeles.
0:48.0	One of the races on the ballot was for Los Angeles County District Attorney, the incumbent George Gascone. the majority of the votes, that would be it, election over. Gascon wins.
1:05.1	But otherwise, the top two candidates would face off in the November election.
1:11.1	Nobody thought Gascon was going to win outright, even his own campaign manager, who hadn't
1:17.2	planned a watch party for Gascon's supporters.
1:20.6	That's what I expected, a ballroom packed with swarms of people watching the vote count roll in on big TVs.
1:28.0	Instead, his campaign arranged for me to meet him in a dark park in downtown LA, right in front of the looming
1:35.6	Art Deco style City Hall building.
1:38.6	It's like we're like, look, this is going to do like a new drug deal. I first saw District Attorney Gascon from a distance, just his outline, backlit by a street lamp. He was wearing a tailored suit, his crop of silver hair looked like smoke, billowing in the night sky.
1:57.0	I walked towards him.
1:58.0	Hi, how's it going?
1:59.0	I'm Antonia. Nice to meet you.
	...

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