The Washington Post is taking notice of an ongoing scandal over the Orange County District Attorney’s use of jailhouse informants.
In a post Wednesday, titled “Calif. prosecutors opt for freeing accused murderers instead of transparency,” for The Watch, reported opinion blog on civil liberties and criminal justice, Radley Balko writes:
There’s an ongoing scandal in Orange County, Calif., over how the office of District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and the sheriff’s department use jailhouse informants in criminal trials. The main allegation is that the agencies are deploying “snitches” to elicit confessions and other incriminating statements from other inmates accused of serious crimes. The informants are then given time off on their own sentences. The problem is that the quid pro quo and the tactics the informants are using to gather statements from the accused aren’t being disclosed to defense attorneys, as required by law.”
Quoting from a Voice of OC article, Balko noted his favorite part of the article:
Susan Kang Schroeder — chief spokeswoman for Rackauckas — said in an email: “It is the official policy of the Orange County District Attorney not to respond to inquiries from the Voice of OC,” citing past disagreements over articles.
Read the full post here.
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