{"id":2153,"date":"2021-05-12T11:38:05","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T11:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/the-laist-smith-pollard-on-gascons-parole-reforms\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T01:48:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T01:48:30","slug":"the-laist-smith-pollard-on-gascons-parole-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/the-laist-smith-pollard-on-gascons-parole-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"The LAist: Smith-Pollard on Gasc\u00f3n’s Parole Reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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The LAist: Smith-Pollard on Gasc\u00f3n’s Parole Reforms<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n By<\/span>CRCC Staff<\/strong>\n \n May 12, 2021<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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L.A. District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n prohibited his prosecutors from opposing parole or attending parole hearings in a reform meant to encourage the release of those with low risk of committing another crime. The LAist<\/a> wrote about the reform, quoting the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement’s Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a faith leader and a mother who lost a son to murder, Smith-Pollard said she favors the opportunity for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have the right to be mad, so I\u2019m not taking that away from anyone who\u2019s mad and angry,\u201d said Smith-Pollard, the pastor of\u00a0Word of Encouragement Community Church<\/a><\/u>\u00a0in South L.A. \u201cFrom my vantage point, I am centered in the space of redemption.\u201d<\/p>\n

She plans to attend the parole hearings for her son\u2019s killer, who\u2019s serving an eight years-to-life sentence in Nevada. But she doesn\u2019t expect to argue to keep him in prison for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifty years doesn\u2019t change my reality,\u201d Smith-Pollard said. \u201cMy anger doesn\u2019t go away with time. My anger goes away because I do whatever healing work I need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says her healing will come in part from seeing the person who murdered her son turn his life around. \u201cSeeing another Black man go to prison … does not bring me joy,\u201d Smith-Pollard said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click here to read the story.<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

L.A. District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n prohibited his prosecutors from opposing parole or attending parole hearings in a reform meant to encourage the release of those with low risk of committing another crime. The LAist wrote about the reform, quoting the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement’s Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":813,"featured_media":104181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-2153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crcc-in-the-news","tag-cmcce"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe LAist: Smith-Pollard on Gasc\u00f3n's Parole Reforms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/the-laist-smith-pollard-on-gascons-parole-reforms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The LAist: Smith-Pollard on Gasc\u00f3n's Parole Reforms - Center for Religion and Civic Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"L.A. 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