California prosecutors agree with rapper 50 Cent after he claimed Los Angeles is “finished” after the city reinstated its no-bail policy.
Comments made by the “Get Rich or Die Tryin” rapper went viral last week after he retweeted a local news segment discussing the policy, which states cops will no longer detain suspects who commit nonviolent crimes like theft, shoplifting, drug use and vandalism.
In his comment, the rapper-turned business mogul wrote, “LA is finished watch how bad it gets out there. SMH [shaking my head].”
LA Deputy District Attorney John McKinney, who was featured in the news segment, told The Post he was glad the rapper’s comments reignited the debate around the controversial issue.
“I thought it was refreshing to have a celebrity, from whatever walk of life, to have the courage to speak against the trend of anti-law enforcement rhetoric that we hear,” McKinney told The Post.
“Hearing the litany of crime after crime that’s taking place in our streets was shocking to people.
“Social media is flooded with [examples of] battery after battery but our policies are moving in the opposite direction to what is playing out in our streets and what people are seeing on their television.”
The no-bail policy was first implemented in Los Angeles during the COVID pandemic shutdown in 2020 to ease crowded city and county jails. Suspects arrested for nonviolent crimes were immediately released without having to pay bail before their arraignment.
California law allows judges to set bail based on the defendant’s criminal record and the seriousness of the crime.
The policy was reinstated in May after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff ruled in favor of a group of activists who sued the county and claimed they had suffered under the cash bail system.
Riff invited city leaders such as LA County District Attorney George Gascón, LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore and LA County Sheriff Robert Luna to testify as to why he shouldn’t issue the order, but none participated.
“Given the politics of LA County today, it didn’t shock me that none of our local leaders had the courage to challenge the idea that people should not be released without bail under any circumstance,” said McKinney, who is one of the candidates running against Gascón in the November 2024 race.
“The notion that our bail laws could be unfair as applied was worth a conversation and I do think some changes to the system needed to be made. But what we have today are judges who are making these decisions without any real guidance, or any kind of principled guidance that would lead to consistency throughout the state.”
Crime-riddled San Francisco also had a similar policy under progressive DA Chesa Boudin, who was ousted by Brooke Jenkins in a recall. Jenkins’ policy, while similar to her predecessor’s, allows cash bail in rare and “limited misdemeanor cases.”
A study released in February by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office found repeat offenders who were released under a “Zero Bail” policy reoffended more often and were more likely to escalate to violent crimes.
Suspects who were released on zero bail were also rearrested at a much higher rate than those who were released on bail, according to the report.
50 Cent — who has notably always been based on the East Coast and is a New York rapper with few ties to Los Angeles — recent viral Tweet even garnered support from the Los Angeles County Association of Deputy District Attorneys.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer also agreed with 50 Cent’s assessment over rampant crime following the no-bail policy.
“His advice is at least worth $1, but my question is where has he been this whole time,” Spitzer quipped to Fox News.
“I’m not a listener of 50 Cent but he has a lot of influence and a lot of followers, and it’s about time the music industry and the Hollywood elite get their arms around this problem and start to speak out.”