'Woke' California district attorney Gascón, Gov. Newsom slammed over early prison releases

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Orange County DA slams Gov. Newsom, LA DA Gascón over early prison releases

Orange County, Calif. District Attorney Todd Spitzer argues 'California is out of control and the rest of the nation needs to wake up.'

Orange County, Calif. District Attorney Todd Spitzer slammed California Gov. Gavin Newsom and "woke" Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón for their "anti-victim" agenda.

"California is out of control and the rest of the nation needs to wake up," Spitzer told "Fox & Friends" on Monday.

The Orange County D.A. made the comments two days after new rules regarding inmates took effect in the state.

As California aims to further trim the population of what once was the nation’s largest state correctional system, the state is giving 76,000 inmates, including violent and repeat felons, the opportunity to leave prison earlier.

More than 63,000 inmates convicted of violent crimes, including nearly 20,000 who are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole, will be eligible for good behavior credits that shorten their sentences by one-third instead of the one-fifth that had been in place over the past four years.

Spitzer warned on Monday that the move will endanger the public.

"Governor Newsom is very proud that he’s going to close two prisons in California," he said. "We're one of the most dangerous states in the nation and the agenda is to end mass incarceration."

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Spitzer pointed out that "we’re talking about the most violent of the violent," which he said includes "second-strikers, those who have committed two or more serious violent felonies and three-strikers, [those who have committed] three or more serious or violent felonies."

"This is not about good credit. This is about not being bad. You get these credits just if you breathe air," he stressed.

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A spokesperson for Newsom did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

In a statement Dana Simas, Press Secretary at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said, "The goal is to increase incentives for the incarcerated population to practice good behavior and follow the rules while serving their time and participate in rehabilitative and educational programs, which will lead to safer prisons."

"Additionally, these changes would help to reduce the prison population by allowing incarcerated persons to earn their way home sooner," she added.

In a separate statement sent to Fox News, Vicky Waters, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said, "The changes in the credits for good behavior that incarcerated people receive do not result in the automatic release of any incarcerated individual" and stressed that "this is not an early release program."

California has been under court orders to reduce a prison population that peaked at 160,000 in 2006 and caused inmates to be placed in gymnasiums and activity rooms. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court backed federal judges’ requirements that the state reduce overcrowding and the population has been declining since the high court’s decision.

In mid-April officials announced that they will close a second prison as a result of the dwindling population, fulfilling a promise made by Newsom. By early 2022, California Correctional Center in Susanville will close and Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, east of San Francisco, will close by this October.

"Obviously there’s an agenda in California which is anti-victim," Spitzer said.

He then pointed to "woke" district attorneys across the country, including Gascón, noting that in Los Angeles County homicides have increased dramatically and yet the gang unit was disbanded.

The move by Gascón is one of a number of new reforms that have won favor with criminal justice advocates and angered prosecutors, law enforcement, and victims' rights advocates.

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The day he took office in December, Gascón announced a slew of sweeping changes including stopping the use of sentencing enhancements, restricting when prosecutors can hold defendants without bail, ending the use of the death penalty in L.A. County and banning the practice of trying juveniles as adults. 

Spitzer also pointed to left-wing Philadelphia D.A. Larry Krasner’s policies as well as those of San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin, arguing that far-left district attorneys "could care less about public safety" with homicides being "out of control."

"They believe that everybody can be rehabilitated and that we should end incarceration for the most serious and violent felons," Spitzer said.

A spokesperson for Gascón, Krasner and Boudin did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.  

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Spitzer argued on Thursday that these district attorneys are "trying to bring this woke agenda to Orange County, California and I won't have it."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.