George Gascón Cites Misleading Poll of L.A. County Crime Victims
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón issued a statement yesterday which released the results from a survey of crime victims in Los Angeles County. The polling results were described by Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ), a sentencing reform group funded by George Soros. In the their release yesterday the following was said, “According to polling, 65 percent of respondents favored taking individual circumstances into account over automatically adding extra years onto a sentence because of prior convictions”. This statement addresses one of the many questions included in this survey that were framed in a leading manner.
The language used in this questions paints a black and white picture of incarceration OR rehabilitation, as if the two cannot be mixed. Another question discussed in this release by CSJ is likely to be seen as an either or, “Sixty-one percent of respondents favor rehabilitation, mental health treatment, and drug treatment over punishment through incarceration.” This question is posing incarceration as ONLY a means of punishment, when that is not the case. Incarceration can offer safety to the community and its residents, and it can offer treatment as needed.
There are many elements of this poll that were not addressed in Gascón’s release or that of the CSJ. One of those elements is the sample size of only 724 people responding to the poll out of the 2,000 that were contacted, why was the response rate only 36%. Additionally, where did the conductors of the survey obtain the victim information from and what crimes were they victims of? These are important elements that must be addressed if this poll is considered to have high validity. The Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) responded to this poll stating, “Survey best practices state that questions asked to participants should not be confusing, leading, or double-barreled. This poll violated all three cardinal rules.” This poll is not based in reliable best practice of research, therefore should be read and interpreted with that consideration in mind.
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It is a shame you are not as concerned about the corrupt prosecutors who incarcerate the innocent for 24 years while freeing lying witnesses to commit more murders. It is the progressive prosecutors and their Conviction Integrity Units who undue those injustices. Both the falsely convicted and the families of victims are savaged by these vile prosecutors. Since they sought the death penalty while suppressing evidence of innocence do you think the DAs should be charged with attempted murder? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/nyregion/queens-wrongful-convictions.html
This comment is a prime example of the “whataboutism” that plagues online discussions. Just so there is no doubt, I have added a paragraph to our Comment Policy to specifically address the point.