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The crime Shanice Amanda Dyer committed as a 17-year-old was as horrific as it was seemingly random. Although Gascón’s juvenile policy is in line with a broader movement to keep youths out of adult prisons in California — where only a dozen teens were tried in adult court last year — Dyer could have faced life in prison for the …

Juveniles

Woman at center of Gascón juvenile sentencing controversy takes plea deal in Kern County killing

Juvenile

A man who was convicted of murder as a teenager, then freed from prison last year because prosecutors under Los Angeles County Dist. The same year, California voters approved Proposition 57, a sweeping criminal justice reform, which barred prosecutors from trying juveniles as adults without a judge’s approval and allowed felons like Cachu to seek new, more lenient sentences as …

Juvenile Justice

As he’s faced increased criticism from law enforcement, elected officials and his own staff, Los Angeles County Dist. Tubbs was 17 at the time of the attack, and Gascón told a reporter Wednesday that, in keeping with his policy of not trying juveniles as adults, he thought “the Tubbs case still does not belong in adult court.” Then Sunday evening, …

Los Angeles County Dist. The county’s top prosecutor, who on Friday backtracked on his controversial policies that prohibit pursuing life sentences against defendants and trying juveniles as adults, said in the statement that he was made aware after Hannah Tubbs’ sentencing of “extremely troubling statements she made about her case, the resolution of it and the young girl that she …

Los Angeles County D.A. Gascón backtracks on policies on juveniles, life sentences

Los Angeles County prosecutors can now seek to try juveniles as adults and pursue life sentences against defendants in certain cases, according to memos issued Friday by Dist. 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 …

Los Angeles County D.A. modifies policy on juvenile cases in wake of controversy

Los Angeles County Dist. George Gascón has modified his blanket ban on trying juveniles as adults due to a pending state Supreme Court case and continuing backlash over a decision to allow a 26-year-old to plead guilty to sexually assaulting a child in juvenile court last month. The document also directs prosecutors to notify Woo of cases where a defendant …

Adult who, at 17, sexually assaulted child is sentenced to juvenile facility

George Gascón has flatly refused to try juveniles as adults, citing studies on adolescent brain development and insisting that young offenders can still be rehabilitated in juvenile custody. Where is the justice for young victim and her family?” L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, a frequent critic of Gascón, has also complained about the case online and had scheduled a news …

Guillermo Orellana, left, and his father, Pedro Orellana, wear shirts in tribute to Kevin Orellana — their brother and son, respectively — who was murdered at age 18 in 2013. Alisa Blair, a former public defender who serves as Gascón’s special advisor on juvenile cases, said the teen charged in Kevin Orellana’s death was remorseful and immediately confessed to police …