San Francisco Recalls Soft-On-Crime District Attorney, Chesa Boudin
"Boudin is a radical activist seeking to dismantle the criminal justice system."
News & Commentary
On June 7th, San Francisco residents voted overwhelmingly to recall far-left, soft-on-crime District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Chesa Boudin is the son of two domestic terrorists who were members of the radical group Weather Underground. Boudin's birth parents were convicted for their roles in a bank robbery in which two New York police officers and a security guard were killed. He was subsequently raised by two other domestic terrorists, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, who were also members of Weather Underground. It should not be surprising that Chesa Boudin had no interest in enforcing the law as district attorney.
Boudin was elected district attorney in November 2019. While in office, Boudin eliminated cash bail and sought to release as many offenders from prison as possible. He also refused to prosecute a whole host of crimes. Boudin's policies ultimately led to chaos and lawlessness in San Francisco.
From March 16th to May 6th, 2020, Boudin released 40% of San Francisco's jail population. In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Boudin argued that he made San Francisco "safer by emptying the jail." The data overtly contradict Boudin's claim.
Chesa Boudin's policies caused an unprecedented crime wave in San Francisco. In 2020, San Francisco saw a 17.1% increase in homicide, a 52.8% increase in burglary, and a 36.9% increase in motor vehicle theft compared to 2019. In 2021, year over year, the city saw a 13.4% increase in overall crime, a 16.7% increase in homicide, a 9.4% increase in assault, a 25% increase in sex trafficking, and a 24.2% increase in larceny. In 2022, from the start of the year, until the day Boudin was recalled, San Francisco, on a year-over-year basis, endured a 9% increase in overall crime, an 11.1% increase in homicide, an 11.2% increase in rape, a 10.9% increase in assault, a 2.7% increase in motor vehicle theft, and a 21.8% increase in larceny.
Boudin's soft-on-crime policies were the direct cause of San Francisco's crime infestation. The crime wave was ultimately so egregious that voters in one of the most progressive cities in the nation felt compelled to recall him.
Many argue that Boudin's soft on crime policies only applied to non-violent offenders. However, that claim is entirely false. Take the Stephanie Chaing case, for example. Chaing was involved in the murder of her elderly father and the subsequent dismembering of his body. Chesa Boudin struck a deal with Chaing, where she pleaded guilty to "accessory after the fact and desecration of human remains." Under the agreement, Boudin agreed to a mere one-year prison sentence, with an additional three-year suspended sentence for Chaing. However, Chaing received credit for the seventeen months of jail time she had already served, before the agreement, allowing her to be immediately released.
Boudin's willingness to let violent criminals skate by without mandatory prison sentences gives away his game. He does not care about the safety of San Francisco's residents or upholding the law. Rather, Boudin is a radical activist seeking to dismantle the criminal justice system.
In addition to the voters, Boudin's radical policies infuriated many of his own attorneys. From January 2020, when Boudin assumed office, through October 2021, at least fifty prosecutors quit their jobs at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. Many of the attorneys who left joined the recall effort against Boudin.
Brooke Jenkins, one of the prosecutors that left the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, stated that "Chesa has a radical approach that involves not charging crime in the first place and simply releasing individuals with no rehabilitation and putting them in positions where they are simply more likely to re-offend." Another former San Francisco prosecutor, Don Du Bain, argued that Boudin "disregards the laws that he doesn't like, and he disregards the court decisions that he doesn't like to impose his own version of what he believes is just – and that's not the job of the district attorney."
Democratic voters in San Francisco saw the detrimental impact of Chesa Boudin's far-left decarceration agenda. Boudin's agenda led to innocent civilians being victimized by violent crime. Ultimately, the voters rebuked Boudin's radicalism. Now, it is up to far-left Mayor London Breed to choose Chesa Boudin's replacement. It would be wise for Breed to select a moderate, tough-on-crime district attorney. If Breed does not, and the crime wave continues, she will likely be the next politician from San Francisco to be recalled.
Garrett Gillespie graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.
The Gillespie Report is a weekly news and conservative commentary column written by Garrett Gillespie. Subscribe to receive the newest edition each week for free.