Los Angeles has the biggest jail system in America and sends people to state prison at almost four times the rate of San Francisco, even though violent crime has fallen in both cities. And there has not been a death penalty case in San Francisco in decades, while prosecutors in Los Angeles are still seeking new capital cases after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a moratorium on executions.
Lara Bazelon is a law professor and writer. The recipient of MacDowell and Mesa Refuge residencies, her op-eds and essays have been published in the New York Times,The Atlantic Magazine, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Slate, and Politico, among other media outlets. Her nonfiction book, AMBITIOUS LIKE A MOTHER: WHY PRIORITIZING YOUR JOB IS GOOD FOR YOUR KIDS is available for pre-order and will be published on April 19.