San Francisco's criminal justice system is failing on multiple fronts: Antoine Watson, convicted of killing 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, walked free on probation after pretrial detention credits exceeded his four-year sentencing cap — a mathematically predictable outcome that defense attorneys can engineer through strategic delays. Meanwhile, SF's Superior Courts haven't reported a single data point to the state since 2020, ranking 52nd out of 56 counties in case clearance, even as the public defender's budget climbed to $57.6 million. New research on Oakland's Ceasefire program shows a different path: targeting the less than 0.5% of residents responsible for most gun violence cut shooting victimizations in half between 2012 and 2017.
Violent offenders are flooding a program designed for petty crimes. Public defenders call it "treatment." The numbers call it fraud.
Feb. 4 deadline looms. If qualified attorneys don't file to run, voters won't even get a choice.
Californians voted for public safety. The state legislature decided their votes don't count.
The Feb. 4 deadline to challenge soft-on-crime judges is days away—and almost no one has stepped up.
State lawmakers gutted accountability for youth crime. Now kids are shooting classmates and beating tourists.
After five years, Vicha Ratanapakdee's family learns their father's life was "negotiable." Six hours of deliberation was all it took.
Video shows Watson running full-speed into 84-year-old Vicha. He walks after 5 years. This is progressive justice.
Antoine Watson shoved an 84-year-old to his death, photographed the body, and got involuntary manslaughter. Welcome to San Francisco.
Judge Begert awarded diversion to a man with 18 burglaries. He didn't even show up to court. This is what "following the law" looks like.
Judge Begert diverted armed robbers and attempted murderers into "treatment." Now a homicide prosecutor is taking over.