California District Attorney Criticizes Early Release Of High-Risk Sex Offenders Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Orange County, California district attorney Todd Spitzer called out a court decision to release seven high-risk sex offenders as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

In an interview with Fox News, Spitzer said the seven offenders on parole either “cut of their bracelet or not charging their (ankle) bracelets… to avoid detection.”

Although Spitzer admitted that the pandemic requires jails to implement social distancing, he warned that there should be a balance between public safety and community safety.

Spitzer said the newly released convicts “go out and commit violent sex acts against innocent victims.”

He questioned the court commissioner’s decision to release the inmates who he claimed tampered with GPS devices in the ankle bracelets, which is punishable by a minimum of 180 days in prison.

“These people shouldn’t be released to the street. They should be locked up and put in our jails,” he also said.

In a statement, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes claimed that the releases were not necessary because his jail population has been down 45% since March.

“I oppose efforts that excuse criminal behavior and jeopardize the safety of our community,” Barnes said in the statement.

Spitzer agreed with Barnes, saying, “I think there has been a ruse on the American public about freeing our jails and there’s actually been an advancement of a social policy to not incarcerate.”

Prisons around the U.S. are scrambling to contain the coronavirus pandemic as confirmed cases spike inside them. In one California prison, half the inmates tested positive and two have since died.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom previously recommended the early release of nearly 3,500 inmates in an effort to protect prisons and state employees from the coronavirus.

California earlier stopped inmate visitations and volunteer programs, blocked inmate transfers from county jails to prisons and moved inmates out of dorms to mitigate the spread of the disease.

The U.S. currently leads the world in total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at 1.1 million, with 63,766 reported deaths as of May 1. California accounts for 48,917 confirmed cases and 1,982 deaths.