Desiree Andrade, whose son Julien was murdered in California in 2018, told Fox & Friends on Monday that he thinks prosecutor George Gascón is “in the wrong office” and “should be a public defender”.
“He would be a great public defender,” Andrade told host Ainsley Earhardt. “The public prosecutor’s office is trying to protect the victims. I feel like … no one is protecting us and that is sad.”
“It is very sad when you have criminals instead of victims,” she continued. “I don’t understand the world we live in now.”
Andrade made the comments five days after Gascón it hit what he called “conservative media” and “tough types of crime” for the reaction against his broad criminal justice reforms, while he faces a recall effort by the victims’ families.
Gascón took office in December and announced a series of changes, including suspending the use of sentence enhancements, restricting when prosecutors can arrest defendants without bail, ending the use of the death penalty in LA County and banning the practice of judge minors as adults.
Many critics have argued that the reforms prioritize criminals rather than their victims. But Gascón stepped back on Wednesday, declaring that “the reform will prevail”.
“Here in LA, we are seeing a reaction against the reform fueled by the conservative media, law enforcement unions and other types of harsh crimes,” Gascón tweeted on Wednesday. “From the spread of fear to scare tactics, we are seeing history repeat itself. But this time, the reform will prevail.”
Gascón’s tweet also included an article published in the Guardian, in which he called the reaction “propaganda” and said the argument against his reforms was that people convicted of a crime do not deserve a second chance.
“The implication is that there is no room for redemption or rehabilitation,” he told the vehicle. “But I tell people that I am not the same person as 10, 20 or 30 years ago.”
Andrade reacted to Gascón by criticizing the recall campaign against him, saying: “it is revolting to hear what he has to say” and that he “cannot blame anyone”.
“I am fighting for my son. I am fighting for what is right,” she said.
Andrade left a message for the liberal prosecutor on Monday, encouraging him to listen to the families of the murder victims “who are suffering from what he is doing to us now”.
CALIFORNIA MOTHER OF MURDER BRUTALLY BEEN BEAT VICTIM BEAT LEFT BEAT OF GASCON AS ‘PRO-CRIMINAL’
“Give us a voice,” said Andrade, noting that Gascón did not reach out to the families of the murder victims, including herself.
“I think that’s a coward,” she said.
She also asked him to review each case independently, instead of a “general policy”.
“Not everything is the same,” said Andrade, stressing that “murder is murder and he needs to take that into account”.
Andrade told Fox News that his son was “brutally” beaten to death after he was caught at his grandparents’ house by “alleged friends”.
In December, Andrade reportedly said he felt “sick” after learning that circumstantial charges against three of the men accused of murdering his 20-year-old son and throwing him off a cliff were dismissed with Gascón’s radical reforms. The change meant that, if convicted, suspects could be eligible for parole in 20 to 30 years, instead of facing life imprisonment without parole.
“They can be free, which is stupid for me,” Andrade said on Monday. “I’m dealing with my son’s life that will never come back and they [his murderers] one day he will be free and will be able to live his life. That is why I am fighting now. “
Investigators said Julian Andrade was beaten and stabbed several times until he lost consciousness. The suspects, believing he was dead, took him to the mountains in Azusa to get rid of the body. Realizing that he was still alive, the suspects reportedly stepped on his head.
They threw his body off a cliff, according to investigators, but they still heard him fighting. A suspect allegedly went down to attack the 20-year-old again.
Julian Andrade was the father of a 9-month-old child and had a second on the way when he was killed, according to KTLA-TV.
Last week, Andrade told Fox & Friends First that she believes Gascón’s reforms are “cruel, cold” and “totally pro-criminal”.
Speaking on “Fox & Friends” on Monday, an emotional Andrade said she felt like she was living in “scary times”.
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A spokesman for Gascón did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment.
Stephen Sorace of Fox News contributed to this report.