latimes--2020-08-03--Column: Chop down the lynching tree from this California city's logo? Probably not so fast

Mike Saunders talks about Placerville ’ s infamous “ noose of justice ” almost dispassionately .
Even when , on one recent sweltering afternoon , he told me about unnamed people threatening to use it on him , he ended the story with a resigned shrug that almost masked the frustration in his eyes .
Such is the lot in life for a prominent , liberal-minded Black man who lives in overwhelmingly conservative and white El Dorado County .
He has learned to pick his battles .
Which brings me back to the noose .
Much has been said lately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cartoonish piece of rope that hangs menacingly from a tree on Placerville ’ s official city logo .
And , to a lesser extent , reasons to ditch the mannequin named George , who is strung up by his neck on the side of a downtown building , and the nickname “ Old Hangtown , ” which still welcomes visitors to the city on a humongous sign along Highway 50 .
Far less has been said about what it will take to actually do any of this .
I ’ m referring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consequences of trying to bring even a whiff of the widespread reckoning on race to the conservative corners of California that need it the most .
Saunders can tell you , though .
And his words should serve as a warning that — even in this time of breathless public opinion polls showing widespread support for Black Lives Matter — change , still , will not happen quickly or easily .
For more than a century , there have been dust-ups over both the noose and the “ Hangtown ” nickname , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mid-1800s , when mostly white residents would frequently act as jury and executioner , stringing up mostly people of color whom they had judged to have committed crimes .
This latest one started with an online petition .
It was early June , and protests — some peaceful , some not — had erupted all over the country in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis .
Placerville ’ s business owners worried that their quaint downtown , still steeped in all things glorified Gold Rush , would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claiming allegiance to Black Lives Matter Sacramento , showed up for a rally at the local courthouse .
About the same time , a petition to remove “ Old Hangtown ” from the sign on Highway 50 was making the rounds on social media .
“ This moniker glorifies and celebrates a violent and racist history , ” the petition states , citing the police brutality protests as a catalyst to make changes .
“ Placerville needs to be progressive in making our community safe and comfortable for people of color .
Everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not pretend to be tone deaf.
” Saunders warned members of the El Dorado County Progressives , an influential group that he helps lead , not to share the petition on Facebook .
Not if they weren ’ t willing to endorse it , that is .
`` [ But ] they posted it , and it immediately got shared everywhere , ” he said , shaking his head .
“ They know I ’ m an elder progressive .
I ’ m an elected official .
I ’ m the only Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saunders is pushing this , ’ and I became the face of this movement.
” The irony is that Saunders , a politically connected retiree who has lived in the county for 17 years , doesn ’ t really have a beef with “ Old Hangtown ” as much as he does with the noose on the city seal .
Call it picking one ’ s battles .
Call it a compromise .
Whatever .
But the noose , he said , is being used by racists to taunt Black residents today .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ after all , that Bowtie Barbershop in downtown Placerville was forced to apologize after a photo of a Colin Kaepernick doll hanging by its neck from the ceiling went viral .
It had apparently been there amid other NFL memorabilia since 2016 , when the former San Francisco 49ers player started kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality .
“ I literally had no idea that I was offending people , ” the barbershop ’ s owner told a local TV station at the time .
“ We have a hangman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so , you know , with the theme of ‘ Hangtown , ’ I hung him.
” Without the ubiquitous presence of the noose , Saunders insists , the interpretation of the “ Hangtown ” nickname would be different and perhaps less potent .
Plus , he said , there ’ s a complicated history worth considering .
For no matter what sort of Jim Crow nastiness the noose conjures up , this is California , not Mississippi .
It was American Indians — along with Chinese immigrants and Mexicans — who were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people during the Gold Rush .
“ Native people get left out of the conversation , even though , in this case , I feel certain they were the primary victims of mob justice or vigilantism or whatever you want to call it , ” said Brendan Lindsay , a history professor at Sacramento State .
Thinking otherwise was a mistake I made the first time I wandered into Placerville , not long after moving to California from the Midwest .
Seeing “ George ” hanging from that noose and the many murals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ felt terror , then confusion and then curiosity .
“ It ’ s not about racism , ” some inebriated white dude told me at the time .
“ It ’ s about justice.
” That ’ s “ justice , ” as in “ vigilante justice , ” which pairs nicely with the Trump administration ’ s current , racist re-branding of it as “ law and order.
” Then as now — whether it ’ s an Indigenous man in what ’ s now Placerville , labeled by a mob jury @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a protester in Portland , labeled by federal agents as violent and grabbed from the streets — it ’ s the same extrajudicial punishment being unfairly meted out against Black and brown people , and white allies .
More than anything , it ’ s this allegiance to revisionist history — and willful blindness about the complexion of those who were lynched — that is propping up objections to removing the noose from Placerville ’ s city logo .
The City Council , faced with strident objections from residents eager to preserve their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , postponed a decision until January on whether to yank the noose from the seal , all public buildings and paperwork .
That was in mid-July , after fliers with white supremacist symbols appeared throughout downtown .
Later in the month , a separate attempt by the council to put the issue before voters as a ballot measure died almost as soon as it began .
Meanwhile , an online petition to keep the “ Old Hangtown ” nickname , blaming “ rampant political correctness and concocted victimhood ” for attempts to retire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many signatures as the original petition .
Sue Taylor , the owner of the building where “ George ” hangs and where , in non-coronavirus times , her daughter runs a family-friendly ice cream shop , echoed the well-worn line that all of this has nothing to do with racism .
Rather , removing the “ noose of justice ” would be like giving in to the “ anarchy ” she sees in TV footage of police brutality protests from others cities .
“ You have a culture that ’ s been here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taylor said .
“ And then you feel like somebody is now invading and saying , ‘ You ’ re racist .
We want you to remove all this , and there ’ s a threat.
’ It ’ s created a horrible atmosphere.
” “ George , ” she insisted , is never coming down .
And , as she is the owner of the building , trimmed with faded siding and the words “ Hangman ’ s Tree ” in brown letters , it indeed appears that the city can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s private property .
All of which has left Saunders in a tough spot .
Melinda Velasco , who helps him lead the Civil Rights Now task force , which is part of El Dorado County Progressives , wants the mannequin , the nickname and the noose on the city seal gone — now .
“ Times have changed .
And the people in the town don ’ t want to change with the times .
So they ’ re stuck , ” she said .
“ It ’ s always been this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always gon na be this way .
So it ’ s hard .
I get it emotionally .
But it ’ s time , and it needs to go .
The dummy needs to go.
” Meanwhile , since facts often have a way of disrupting a good narrative , on both the left and the right , talk of protests in Placerville has continued , mostly in the name of Black lives .
Some say there ’ s talk of trying to form an El Dorado County chapter of Black Lives Matter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of American Indian Studies at Chico State , is grateful for Black activists , who are the only reason a discussion about that “ damn noose ” is happening at all .
But she ’ s not happy that the racism and brutality that her ancestors endured during the Gold Rush are once again largely being glossed over .
“ That history is not talked about at all here in California , ” Esquivido said .
“ I mean , it just makes me mad.
” Saunders , the Black man forever stuck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only way forward is to have a series of community conversations .
It ’ s certainly not the radical choice , but it is the only one , he says , that will help the people of Placerville understand exactly why the noose needs to come down and exactly how it makes the Black and brown people of El Dorado County feel .
“ I mean , people can go out on the street , and that ’ s all fine .
That ’ s one part of it .
You need protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he added , Velasco looking on from his right and Taylor on his left on that sweltering afternoon , “ how can we work on this together ?
”

“George” the mannequin hangs from a noose in downtown Placerville, a Gold Rush boomtown that prides itself on a history of “law and order.”
Mike Saunders talks about Placerville’s infamous “noose of justice” almost dispassionately. Even when, on one recent sweltering afternoon, he told me about unnamed people threatening to use it on him, he ended the story with a resigned shrug that almost masked the frustration in his eyes.
Such is the lot in life for a prominent, liberal-minded Black man who lives in overwhelmingly conservative and white El Dorado County. He has learned to pick his battles.
Which brings me back to the noose.
Much has been said lately about the reasons to get rid of the cartoonish piece of rope that hangs menacingly from a tree on Placerville’s official city logo. And, to a lesser extent, reasons to ditch the mannequin named George, who is strung up by his neck on the side of a downtown building, and the nickname “Old Hangtown,” which still welcomes visitors to the city on a humongous sign along Highway 50.
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Far less has been said about what it will take to actually do any of this. I’m referring to the inevitable complications, compromises and consequences of trying to bring even a whiff of the widespread reckoning on race to the conservative corners of California that need it the most.
Saunders can tell you, though. And his words should serve as a warning that — even in this time of breathless public opinion polls showing widespread support for Black Lives Matter — change, still, will not happen quickly or easily.
The Placerville City Logo. (City of Placerville)
For more than a century, there have been dust-ups over both the noose and the “Hangtown” nickname, the latter of which was adopted in the mid-1800s, when mostly white residents would frequently act as jury and executioner, stringing up mostly people of color whom they had judged to have committed crimes.
This latest one started with an online petition.
It was early June, and protests — some peaceful, some not — had erupted all over the country in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Placerville’s business owners worried that their quaint downtown, still steeped in all things glorified Gold Rush, would be next — especially when protesters, some claiming allegiance to Black Lives Matter Sacramento, showed up for a rally at the local courthouse.
About the same time, a petition to remove “Old Hangtown” from the sign on Highway 50 was making the rounds on social media.
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“This moniker glorifies and celebrates a violent and racist history,” the petition states, citing the police brutality protests as a catalyst to make changes. “Placerville needs to be progressive in making our community safe and comfortable for people of color. Everyone is welcome here. Let’s not pretend to be tone deaf.”
Saunders warned members of the El Dorado County Progressives, an influential group that he helps lead, not to share the petition on Facebook. Not if they weren’t willing to endorse it, that is.
“[But] they posted it, and it immediately got shared everywhere,” he said, shaking his head. “They know I’m an elder progressive. I’m an elected official. I’m the only Black face. It became, ‘Mike Saunders is pushing this,’ and I became the face of this movement.”
The irony is that Saunders, a politically connected retiree who has lived in the county for 17 years, doesn’t really have a beef with “Old Hangtown” as much as he does with the noose on the city seal. Call it picking one’s battles. Call it a compromise. Whatever. But the noose, he said, is being used by racists to taunt Black residents today.
It was only two years ago, after all, that Bowtie Barbershop in downtown Placerville was forced to apologize after a photo of a Colin Kaepernick doll hanging by its neck from the ceiling went viral. It had apparently been there amid other NFL memorabilia since 2016, when the former San Francisco 49ers player started kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
“I literally had no idea that I was offending people,” the barbershop’s owner told a local TV station at the time. “We have a hangman out here called ‘George’ and so, you know, with the theme of ‘Hangtown,’ I hung him.”
Without the ubiquitous presence of the noose, Saunders insists, the interpretation of the “Hangtown” nickname would be different and perhaps less potent.
Plus, he said, there’s a complicated history worth considering. For no matter what sort of Jim Crow nastiness the noose conjures up, this is California, not Mississippi. It was American Indians — along with Chinese immigrants and Mexicans — who were strung up far more often than Black people during the Gold Rush.
“Native people get left out of the conversation, even though, in this case, I feel certain they were the primary victims of mob justice or vigilantism or whatever you want to call it,” said Brendan Lindsay, a history professor at Sacramento State.
Thinking otherwise was a mistake I made the first time I wandered into Placerville, not long after moving to California from the Midwest. Seeing “George” hanging from that noose and the many murals touting “Old Hangtown,” I felt terror, then confusion and then curiosity.
“It’s not about racism,” some inebriated white dude told me at the time. “It’s about justice.”
That’s “justice,” as in “vigilante justice,” which pairs nicely with the Trump administration’s current, racist re-branding of it as “law and order.” Then as now — whether it’s an Indigenous man in what’s now Placerville, labeled by a mob jury as a thief and hanged, or a protester in Portland, labeled by federal agents as violent and grabbed from the streets — it’s the same extrajudicial punishment being unfairly meted out against Black and brown people, and white allies.
More than anything, it’s this allegiance to revisionist history — and willful blindness about the complexion of those who were lynched — that is propping up objections to removing the noose from Placerville’s city logo.
The City Council, faced with strident objections from residents eager to preserve their telling of the city’s past, postponed a decision until January on whether to yank the noose from the seal, all public buildings and paperwork. That was in mid-July, after fliers with white supremacist symbols appeared throughout downtown.
Later in the month, a separate attempt by the council to put the issue before voters as a ballot measure died almost as soon as it began.
Meanwhile, an online petition to keep the “Old Hangtown” nickname, blaming “rampant political correctness and concocted victimhood” for attempts to retire it, has gathered three times as many signatures as the original petition.
From left, Sue Taylor, Mike Saunders and Melinda Velasco have varying opinions on what to do about the noose on Placerville’s city seal. (Erika D. Smith / Los Angeles Times)
Sue Taylor, the owner of the building where “George” hangs and where, in non-coronavirus times, her daughter runs a family-friendly ice cream shop, echoed the well-worn line that all of this has nothing to do with racism. Rather, removing the “noose of justice” would be like giving in to the “anarchy” she sees in TV footage of police brutality protests from others cities.
“You have a culture that’s been here since the beginning of time,” Taylor said. “And then you feel like somebody is now invading and saying, ‘You’re racist. We want you to remove all this, and there’s a threat.’ It’s created a horrible atmosphere.”
“George,” she insisted, is never coming down. And, as she is the owner of the building, trimmed with faded siding and the words “Hangman’s Tree” in brown letters, it indeed appears that the city can’t make her, because it’s private property.
All of which has left Saunders in a tough spot.
Melinda Velasco, who helps him lead the Civil Rights Now task force, which is part of El Dorado County Progressives, wants the mannequin, the nickname and the noose on the city seal gone — now.
“Times have changed. And the people in the town don’t want to change with the times. So they’re stuck,” she said. “It’s always been this way. Therefore, it’s always gonna be this way. So it’s hard. I get it emotionally. But it’s time, and it needs to go. The dummy needs to go.”
Meanwhile, since facts often have a way of disrupting a good narrative, on both the left and the right, talk of protests in Placerville has continued, mostly in the name of Black lives. Some say there’s talk of trying to form an El Dorado County chapter of Black Lives Matter.
Vanessa Esquivido, an assistant professor of American Indian Studies at Chico State, is grateful for Black activists, who are the only reason a discussion about that “damn noose” is happening at all. But she’s not happy that the racism and brutality that her ancestors endured during the Gold Rush are once again largely being glossed over.
“That history is not talked about at all here in California,” Esquivido said. “I mean, it just makes me mad.”
Saunders, the Black man forever stuck in the middle, is convinced the only way forward is to have a series of community conversations. It’s certainly not the radical choice, but it is the only one, he says, that will help the people of Placerville understand exactly why the noose needs to come down and exactly how it makes the Black and brown people of El Dorado County feel.
“I mean, people can go out on the street, and that’s all fine. That’s one part of it. You need protests, you need community action.” But, he added, Velasco looking on from his right and Taylor on his left on that sweltering afternoon, “how can we work on this together?”


latimes--2020-08-02--Some autopsies remain secret for years. Families of those killed by police want that changed

It is a roster of tragedy and violence , a list populated with those famous in life and those plucked from obscurity by the exceptional circumstances of their death .
Elizabeth Short , known as the Black Dahlia , is an enduring member of the list .
Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are still there , as is Susan Berman , the writer whom Robert Durst is charged with killing at her Benedict Canyon bungalow .
The Notorious B.I.G .
was on the list for about 15 years after being killed in a drive-by shooting .
The vast majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Guardado , the 18-year-old fatally shot in June by a Los Angeles County sheriff ’ s deputy in Gardena .
These are people whose deaths have been under a so-called “ security hold ” by the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner ’ s office , a status that prevents public disclosure of their autopsies , often for months , years or , in some cases , indefinitely .
At any given time , more than 100 cases are under a security hold .
This sealing was considered a routine procedural function , imposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or prosecutors , to provide a shroud of secrecy during the investigation of complex , high-profile , mysterious or unusual deaths .
Usually , the hold is lifted only when the requesting police or prosecuting agency gives the green light .
But in recent years , the practice has been thrust into the spotlight when on-duty police officers have killed members of the public — cases in which anger and skepticism have fueled calls for accountability and transparency , and in which the security hold has only compounded flaring distrust .
The hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the center of an impassioned debate that came to a head with the death of Guardado , who was working as a security guard at an auto body shop June 18 , when he was approached by officers and ran , his family said .
Deputies said Guardado produced a firearm during the chase .
His killing spurred days of protests and demands for justice and answers .
After Guardado ’ s family publicly shared the results of an independent autopsy , L.A. County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Jonathan Lucas unilaterally bucked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Department and released the full coroner ’ s report , confirming that the 18-year-old was shot five times in the back .
“ I believe that government can do its part by being more timely and more transparent in sharing information that the public demands and has a right to see , ” Lucas said in a statement .
Sheriff Alex Villanueva was furious and swiftly rebuked the disclosure , saying it jeopardized the ongoing investigation as well as any “ future criminal or administrative proceedings , ” even tainting potential witnesses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ essential for preserving the integrity of cases , and for the families of many homicide victims , the practice has been largely without controversy .
The families often form close bonds with detectives or district attorneys and have a greater degree of trust as authorities try to prosecute a killing .
But for the relatives of those killed by police , the security hold is one in a series of ways in which they are treated differently , blocked from officially knowing the details of their loved one ’ s final moments .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ way of harassing them , making their loss more difficult because they couldn ’ t have a determination into how their loved one was killed , ” said Lael Rubin , a retired L.A. County prosecutor who serves on the civilian commission overseeing the Sheriff ’ s Department .
She noted cases in which security holds have been in place for two years or longer .
“ The official word was , ‘ We request a security hold for further investigation , ’ but it does seem suspicious , ” Rubin said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ your investigation in two years , what are you doing ?
” Under state law , coroner ’ s reports are public record .
The packet is often three reports in one : toxicology tests , an autopsy and an investigative summary .
The documents can be incredibly detailed , with a medical history , a listing of prescription drugs the person took and the doctors who issued the pharmaceuticals , descriptions of the person ’ s anatomy and the manner in which they perished .
Photos or videos from a death scene @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can include a diagram of a body , along with descriptions of tattoos and piercings .
A hold means the death does not show up in the coroner ’ s online database , and staff at the office have “ limited access to case information , ” Sarah Ardalani , spokesperson for the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner , said .
The security hold has become a standard feature in the aftermath of a celebrity ’ s death , including singer Whitney Houston , actress and writer Carrie Fisher , actor Paul Walker and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In these cases , the hold prevents salacious tidbits from reaching tabloids and is usually lifted in three to six months , when the full report is complete .
“ Its main role is to ensure that the facts of the case are held until the investigation can be thoroughly vetted , ” said Dr. Mark Fajardo , the chief forensic pathologist of Riverside County and former coroner of L.A. County .
Of the 8,000 or so deaths reviewed each year by the L.A. County coroner ’ s office , a small fraction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a little time , ” said Craig Harvey , the longtime chief of investigations for the county coroner , who retired in 2015 .
Harvey said detectives and prosecutors may consider confidentiality as essential to identifying a suspect who had information that only the killer could know .
For example , LAPD Det .
Meghan Aguilar said in a statement , the autopsy report may detail whether the victim was sexually assaulted and whether evidence of this was recovered — information that detectives and prosecutors would want to keep a lid on while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also reveal if there was a struggle before a person died and what type of injuries on the body would reflect this , Aguilar said .
Why the Simpson and Goldman autopsies remain under a hold is unclear .
The LAPD said the 1994 killings are still considered unsolved , warranting the hold , but Judge Lance Ito , who presided over the criminal trial of O.J .
Simpson , also appears to have effectively sealed the autopsies .
The coroner ’ s office confirmed that the autopsies were put on a security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is my recollection this was agreed to by both the prosecution and defense , ” Ito told The Times via email .
Ito , who has retired , declined to explain why he sealed the autopsies , but he noted that photos of the autopsy were displayed and details of the victims ’ cause of death were aired in open court by medical experts .
Security holds might also prevent “ inflammatory ” information from reaching the public without proper context ; for example , a description of gunshot wounds in a person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Because of the trauma that a bullet does to the body , it doesn ’ t necessarily mean the police shot someone in the back , ” he said .
“ People may get worked up over something .
But it may be explained , and it can make sense , and it can be presented to the grand jury or district attorney.
” For more than a year , the family of Paul Rea , 18 , waited anxiously to learn more about how he was shot and killed by an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a routine traffic stop in East L.A .
Prosecutors concluded in May that the deputy acted lawfully , then closed their investigation .
Rea ’ s family learned this from a Times journalist .
Until late last month , the autopsy remained under a security hold .
Grainy security footage that captured part of the June 27 , 2019 , encounter appears to show Rea breaking from the deputy before he was shot four times .
Deputy Hector Saavedra said he felt a gun in Rea ’ s waistband , but Rea never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report by the district attorney ’ s office .
“ I want the whole thing .
I want to read everything , ” said Julie Diaz-Martinez , Rea ’ s grandmother .
“ As a family member , the autopsy is important , because you wonder , was he still breathing when they took him into the hospital ?
You wonder , how lethal was the first shot ?
How long did he suffer ?
Could it really have been prevented ?
” A yearlong wait for a security hold to lift is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but the hold can stretch on for two years or longer .
“ They ’ re looking for answers about how their loved ones died , and the coroner ’ s autopsy often is one of the few repositories of objective information about that , and it ’ s hidden from them , ” said Sean Kennedy , a member of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission .
He proposed that the coroner lift holds and make the documents public after a reasonable period of time , perhaps 60 days .
Walter Katz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the police watchdog for San Jose and deputy inspector general for the L.A. County Sheriff ’ s Department , said the delays go to the very heart of how those killed by law enforcement are viewed .
“ They are not treated like victims of a crime .
The whole mindset is : Whoever is shot by the police is the suspect , and the law enforcement officer who used force is the victim , ” Katz said .
“ That ’ s how the homicide books created by agencies characterize it.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on-duty police officer fatally shoots a civilian receives a security hold , according to local law enforcement agencies .
LAPD Capt .
Gisselle Espinoza said in a statement that security holds are “ based upon the confidential , legal and the sensitive nature of a case.
” She cited other factors , including protection of evidence and proper review by the district attorney ’ s office .
“ If autopsy results are released during an active investigation , it can taint follow-up interviews from victims , witnesses or bystanders , ” said Jennifer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beach Police Department .
The LAPD has kept a security hold on the autopsy of Melyda Corado for more than two years .
Corado was working on July 21 , 2018 , at the Trader Joe ’ s in Silver Lake when Gene Atkins rolled up , hostage in tow , after leading two officers on a lengthy car chase .
Atkins stopped the car ; ran toward the store , which was crowded with shoppers ; and shot at officers .
Police returned fire , and one of the bullets struck Corado @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was not someone engaged with police .
She was not a suspect in a crime , ” said John Taylor , the attorney representing the Corado family in their wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and the LAPD .
“ So to have a security hold on her case has been baffling and confusing.
” “ If there ’ s something that ’ s on the body as evidence that would be known only to the perpetrator of the crime , I can understand , ” Taylor added .
The L.A. Police Commission has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot that killed Corado acted in accordance with LAPD policy .
Atkins has been charged under the “ provocative act ” murder doctrine for allegedly setting off the events that led to Corado ’ s death .
The security hold has remained .
Albert Corado , a community organizer who now lives in his late sister ’ s apartment in Atwater Village , said he felt the secrecy was part of a campaign to block information .
Last year , the Corado family ’ s lawyers subpoenaed L.A. County for her autopsy ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request and referred her family to an LAPD detective , according to court records .
The family then successfully persuaded an L.A. County Superior Court judge to order the autopsy ’ s release .
The city did not oppose the move in court but did not lift the security hold , either .
Albert Corado said he reviewed the report , and it confirmed what he already knew — his sister died from a gunshot wound — making its secrecy a source of anger and motivation .
“ The harder they make it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to trial is to make you want to give up , ” he said .
The LAPD told The Times last week that it had directed the investigating officer in the Corado case to remove the security hold .
In a statement , the department said the report should be made available to the public this month .
Times staff writers Maloy Moore and Nicole Santa Cruz contributed to this report .

Albert Corado holds a photo of his sister Melyda, who was fatally shot by an LAPD officer in 2018 at the Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake.
It is a roster of tragedy and violence, a list populated with those famous in life and those plucked from obscurity by the exceptional circumstances of their death.
Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia, is an enduring member of the list. Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are still there, as is Susan Berman, the writer whom Robert Durst is charged with killing at her Benedict Canyon bungalow. The Notorious B.I.G. was on the list for about 15 years after being killed in a drive-by shooting.
The vast majority are more recent entries, including Andres Guardado, the 18-year-old fatally shot in June by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in Gardena.
These are people whose deaths have been under a so-called “security hold” by the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner’s office, a status that prevents public disclosure of their autopsies, often for months, years or, in some cases, indefinitely.
At any given time, more than 100 cases are under a security hold. This sealing was considered a routine procedural function, imposed almost always at the request of police or prosecutors, to provide a shroud of secrecy during the investigation of complex, high-profile, mysterious or unusual deaths. Usually, the hold is lifted only when the requesting police or prosecuting agency gives the green light.
Advertisement
But in recent years, the practice has been thrust into the spotlight when on-duty police officers have killed members of the public — cases in which anger and skepticism have fueled calls for accountability and transparency, and in which the security hold has only compounded flaring distrust.
The hold has set the coroner’s office at the center of an impassioned debate that came to a head with the death of Guardado, who was working as a security guard at an auto body shop June 18, when he was approached by officers and ran, his family said. Deputies said Guardado produced a firearm during the chase. His killing spurred days of protests and demands for justice and answers.
After Guardado’s family publicly shared the results of an independent autopsy, L.A. County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Jonathan Lucas unilaterally bucked the hold installed by the Sheriff’s Department and released the full coroner’s report, confirming that the 18-year-old was shot five times in the back.
Family and friends rally for justice in the case of Andres Guardado, who was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy in Gardena. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
“I believe that government can do its part by being more timely and more transparent in sharing information that the public demands and has a right to see,” Lucas said in a statement.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva was furious and swiftly rebuked the disclosure, saying it jeopardized the ongoing investigation as well as any “future criminal or administrative proceedings,” even tainting potential witnesses.
Advertisement
Authorities maintain that security holds are essential for preserving the integrity of cases, and for the families of many homicide victims, the practice has been largely without controversy. The families often form close bonds with detectives or district attorneys and have a greater degree of trust as authorities try to prosecute a killing.
But for the relatives of those killed by police, the security hold is one in a series of ways in which they are treated differently, blocked from officially knowing the details of their loved one’s final moments.
“Family members speculated it was a way of harassing them, making their loss more difficult because they couldn’t have a determination into how their loved one was killed,” said Lael Rubin, a retired L.A. County prosecutor who serves on the civilian commission overseeing the Sheriff’s Department. She noted cases in which security holds have been in place for two years or longer.
“The official word was, ‘We request a security hold for further investigation,’ but it does seem suspicious,” Rubin said. “If you haven’t completed your investigation in two years, what are you doing?”
Under state law, coroner’s reports are public record. The packet is often three reports in one: toxicology tests, an autopsy and an investigative summary. The documents can be incredibly detailed, with a medical history, a listing of prescription drugs the person took and the doctors who issued the pharmaceuticals, descriptions of the person’s anatomy and the manner in which they perished.
Photos or videos from a death scene are not released, but a report can include a diagram of a body, along with descriptions of tattoos and piercings.
A hold means the death does not show up in the coroner’s online database, and staff at the office have “limited access to case information,” Sarah Ardalani, spokesperson for the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, said.
The security hold has become a standard feature in the aftermath of a celebrity’s death, including singer Whitney Houston, actress and writer Carrie Fisher, actor Paul Walker and the wife of actor Robert Blake. In these cases, the hold prevents salacious tidbits from reaching tabloids and is usually lifted in three to six months, when the full report is complete.
“Its main role is to ensure that the facts of the case are held until the investigation can be thoroughly vetted,” said Dr. Mark Fajardo, the chief forensic pathologist of Riverside County and former coroner of L.A. County.
Of the 8,000 or so deaths reviewed each year by the L.A. County coroner’s office, a small fraction are kept secret.
“It buys a little time,” said Craig Harvey, the longtime chief of investigations for the county coroner, who retired in 2015. Harvey said detectives and prosecutors may consider confidentiality as essential to identifying a suspect who had information that only the killer could know.
For example, LAPD Det. Meghan Aguilar said in a statement, the autopsy report may detail whether the victim was sexually assaulted and whether evidence of this was recovered — information that detectives and prosecutors would want to keep a lid on while pursuing a suspect. The autopsy may also reveal if there was a struggle before a person died and what type of injuries on the body would reflect this, Aguilar said.
Why the Simpson and Goldman autopsies remain under a hold is unclear. The LAPD said the 1994 killings are still considered unsolved, warranting the hold, but Judge Lance Ito, who presided over the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson, also appears to have effectively sealed the autopsies. The coroner’s office confirmed that the autopsies were put on a security hold via court order.
Autopsy reports on Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, who were found dead June 12, 1994, in Los Angeles, remain sealed under a court order. (Associated Press)
“It is my recollection this was agreed to by both the prosecution and defense,” Ito told The Times via email. Ito, who has retired, declined to explain why he sealed the autopsies, but he noted that photos of the autopsy were displayed and details of the victims’ cause of death were aired in open court by medical experts.
Security holds might also prevent “inflammatory” information from reaching the public without proper context; for example, a description of gunshot wounds in a person’s back, Harvey said.
“Because of the trauma that a bullet does to the body, it doesn’t necessarily mean the police shot someone in the back,” he said. “People may get worked up over something. But it may be explained, and it can make sense, and it can be presented to the grand jury or district attorney.”
For more than a year, the family of Paul Rea, 18, waited anxiously to learn more about how he was shot and killed by an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy during a routine traffic stop in East L.A.
Prosecutors concluded in May that the deputy acted lawfully, then closed their investigation. Rea’s family learned this from a Times journalist. Until late last month, the autopsy remained under a security hold.
Grainy security footage that captured part of the June 27, 2019, encounter appears to show Rea breaking from the deputy before he was shot four times. Deputy Hector Saavedra said he felt a gun in Rea’s waistband, but Rea never pulled it out, according to a report by the district attorney’s office.
“I want the whole thing. I want to read everything,” said Julie Diaz-Martinez, Rea’s grandmother. “As a family member, the autopsy is important, because you wonder, was he still breathing when they took him into the hospital? You wonder, how lethal was the first shot? How long did he suffer? Could it really have been prevented?”
A yearlong wait for a security hold to lift is common when people are killed by police, but the hold can stretch on for two years or longer.
“They’re looking for answers about how their loved ones died, and the coroner’s autopsy often is one of the few repositories of objective information about that, and it’s hidden from them,” said Sean Kennedy, a member of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission. He proposed that the coroner lift holds and make the documents public after a reasonable period of time, perhaps 60 days.
Walter Katz, a former public defender who served as the police watchdog for San Jose and deputy inspector general for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, said the delays go to the very heart of how those killed by law enforcement are viewed.
“They are not treated like victims of a crime. The whole mindset is: Whoever is shot by the police is the suspect, and the law enforcement officer who used force is the victim,” Katz said. “That’s how the homicide books created by agencies characterize it.”
Not every case in which an on-duty police officer fatally shoots a civilian receives a security hold, according to local law enforcement agencies.
LAPD Capt. Gisselle Espinoza said in a statement that security holds are “based upon the confidential, legal and the sensitive nature of a case.” She cited other factors, including protection of evidence and proper review by the district attorney’s office.
“If autopsy results are released during an active investigation, it can taint follow-up interviews from victims, witnesses or bystanders,” said Jennifer De Prez, a spokeswoman for Long Beach Police Department.
The LAPD has kept a security hold on the autopsy of Melyda Corado for more than two years. Corado was working on July 21, 2018, at the Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake when Gene Atkins rolled up, hostage in tow, after leading two officers on a lengthy car chase. Atkins stopped the car; ran toward the store, which was crowded with shoppers; and shot at officers. Police returned fire, and one of the bullets struck Corado, killing her.
“Mely Corado was not someone engaged with police. She was not a suspect in a crime,” said John Taylor, the attorney representing the Corado family in their wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and the LAPD. “So to have a security hold on her case has been baffling and confusing.”
“If there’s something that’s on the body as evidence that would be known only to the perpetrator of the crime, I can understand,” Taylor added.
The L.A. Police Commission has ruled that the officer who fired the shot that killed Corado acted in accordance with LAPD policy. Atkins has been charged under the “provocative act” murder doctrine for allegedly setting off the events that led to Corado’s death.
The security hold has remained. Albert Corado, a community organizer who now lives in his late sister’s apartment in Atwater Village, said he felt the secrecy was part of a campaign to block information.
Last year, the Corado family’s lawyers subpoenaed L.A. County for her autopsy; the coroner’s office denied their request and referred her family to an LAPD detective, according to court records. The family then successfully persuaded an L.A. County Superior Court judge to order the autopsy’s release. The city did not oppose the move in court but did not lift the security hold, either.
Albert Corado said he reviewed the report, and it confirmed what he already knew — his sister died from a gunshot wound — making its secrecy a source of anger and motivation.
“The harder they make it to give out information in the run-up to trial is to make you want to give up,” he said.
The LAPD told The Times last week that it had directed the investigating officer in the Corado case to remove the security hold. In a statement, the department said the report should be made available to the public this month.
Times staff writers Maloy Moore and Nicole Santa Cruz contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-08-04--Drug users delivering stillbirths could face murder rap if this California case advances

It sounds like a nightmare scenario for women ’ s rights in California .
Every time a woman suffers a late-term miscarriage or gives birth to a stillborn baby , she could potentially become the target of a homicide investigation , with police visiting homes and delivery rooms to carry out interrogations .
Yet some medical and civil rights groups say that scenario is not so far-fetched if the murder prosecution of Chelsea Becker is permitted to proceed in a rural county of the San Joaquin Valley .
They say it could judicially rewrite the state ’ s homicide statute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pregnant woman whose conduct might have resulted in the loss of her pregnancy .
“ These are potentially dangerous precedents which make all women who have any not-perfect pregnancy event criminally liable for that event , ” said Dr. Mishka Terplan of UC San Francisco , an expert in the fields of pregnancy and addiction .
“ And that should terrify everyone.
” The Kings County district attorney maintains the prosecution is driven by law , not by politics .
“ The conduct of the defendant resulted in the death of a fetus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Dist .
Atty .
Keith Fagundes , who declined interview requests and responded to questions only through emails .
Yet the controversy is playing out as antiabortion groups seek new laws and legal rulings to limit reproductive rights in many states , with California not separate from the fray .
Becker gave birth to Zachariah Joseph at Adventist Health Hanford in the early-morning hours of Sept. 10 , 2019 .
He never had a pulse .
Becker had a history of methamphetamine addiction , and the coroner launched a criminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
About a month and a half later , the district attorney ’ s office filed a complaint charging Becker , now 26 , with murder .
Authorities said an autopsy showed her child had toxic levels of meth in his system .
After a brief search that drew national news coverage , Becker was arrested Nov. 6 .
She remains imprisoned in the Kings County Jail in lieu of $ 2-million bail .
Her case has gained broad support from legal rights , medical and advocacy organizations .
She has replaced a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attorneys provided by the National Advocates for Pregnant Women , which also launched a public relations campaign demanding her release .
Fifteen groups have signed on to a legal brief calling for the prosecution to be dropped .
The American Civil Liberties Union also has submitted a brief , saying it has successfully defended women in California three times under nearly identical circumstances .
“ People are up in arms about this , ” said Mary Sylla , senior staff attorney with the Drug Policy Alliance , who helped prepare the brief signed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gynecologists and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry , among other groups .
“ It ’ s anti-woman .
I can ’ t imagine another situation where we would be incarcerating somebody for something that would be as personally painful as losing a child.
” In comments relayed by her attorney , Becker said she was cautiously optimistic .
“ I ’ d like to be positive .
I feel like [ the case ] should be dismissed because of how the legislation was written , ” she said .
“ But this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they want here.
” At the heart of the case is a 1970 revision to California ’ s murder statute that added a fetus as a potential victim .
Legislators made the change after the state Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction of a Stockton man who had beaten his estranged wife , causing her to deliver a stillborn baby .
Subsequent amendments explicitly exempted abortions , as well as “ any act resulting in the death of the fetus where that act was solicited , aided , abetted or consented to by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County prosecutors have argued that the wording means a woman can be charged with the murder of her own unborn child , provided she did not seek a lawful abortion .
“ The law does not exempt a late-term mother to do an act that results in death to her fetus , ” Fagundes said .
California courts that have considered the issue have unanimously agreed that the murder law can not be applied to a woman for killing her own fetus .
First there was Roseann Jaurigue , 36 , of Gilroy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1992 authorities blamed on cocaine use .
Defense attorneys submitted an affidavit from former state Assembly Speaker Craig Biddle , the primary author of the 1970 amendment to the murder statute .
He wrote that its sole intent was “ to make punishable as murder a third party ’ s willful assault on a pregnant woman resulting in the death of her fetus.
” “ No legislator ever suggested that this legislation , as it was finally adopted , could be used to make punishable as murder conduct by a pregnant woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fetus , ” Biddle wrote .
A Justice Court in Siskiyou County made a similar ruling the following year , noting that state lawmakers considered bills in 1987 , 1989 and 1991 that would allow drug-using mothers to be charged with child endangerment , manslaughter and a misdemeanor offense , respectively .
Lawmakers rejected each measure .
The ACLU says it also represented Jackie Lynn Johnson of Contra Costa County in 1995 after she was charged with murder for allegedly using methamphetamine while pregnant .
Prosecutors eventually dropped the case .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are strikingly similar to the cases that we brought in the past , ” said Jennifer Chou , reproductive and gender equity attorney for the ACLU of Northern California .
“ It ’ s 30 years later , but we ’ re at a moment in time where there is increased attention to drug use , where there is heightened politicization of reproductive rights.
” If Becker ’ s case goes to trial , it will be the first time a California court has permitted the murder prosecution of a woman for acts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the loss of her child .
“ A woman could be charged with murder for jaywalking if that resulted in the end of her pregnancy , ” Chou said .
In a legal filing justifying the charge , prosecutors cited two research articles , saying they show it ’ s public knowledge “ that a mother ’ s methamphetamine use can cause serious harm or death to a viable unborn child.
” That ’ s not true , said Dr. Barry Lester , an author of the articles , professor at Brown University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of the school ’ s Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk .
“ Let me put it this way : I can ’ t believe they read those articles and came to this conclusion , ” said Lester , who has asked the prosecution to file a correction .
“ Because we didn ’ t even study the phenomenon.
” His colleague , Dr. Donald DeRauf of the Mayo Clinic , also signed a statement saying the citations were inaccurate .
While the papers didn ’ t address the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were based actually showed no higher incidence of death among babies who were exposed to methamphetamine than it did among a control group , Lester said .
“ The main takeaway that we learned was that what these drugs seem to do is that they make a baby a little more fragile , ” Lester said .
“ They don ’ t cause brain damage .
They certainly don ’ t cause death .
… Ultimately , it ’ s the interplay of the effects of the drug and the effects of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kid.
” Other studies have come to similar conclusions , said Dr. Tricia Wright of UC San Francisco , a clinician and researcher who has written papers on meth use during pregnancy .
Along with Terplan , she signed an affidavit calling for the case to be dropped .
“ While [ meth use ] can be a risk factor for a stillbirth , it ’ s certainly not causative — any more than prosecuting someone for having diabetes during pregnancy , which can also increase the risk of stillbirth , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by his office “ is largely irrelevant at this stage , because the medical findings in this case conclude that Zachariah C. , the full-term fetus , had lethal levels by adult standards of methamphetamine in his blood.
” He also denied there were political undertones to the prosecution , calling himself “ neither pro-life nor pro-death.
” The case has shone a bright spotlight on Fagundes .
The lifelong Hanford resident and son of a Kings County supervisor was elected district attorney of the conservative-leaning county in 2014 after winning the backing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ April , the National Advocates for Pregnant Women launched a campaign urging people to contact the district attorney and tell him to dismiss the murder charge .
Fagundes said that write-in campaign could be seen as an effort “ to intimidate and influence a prosecution.
” The Kings County Superior Court sided with his office in early June , denying an application by Becker ’ s lawyers to dismiss the case .
Judge Robert Burns said he found the 1993 affidavit signed by Biddle , which the defense team resubmitted as evidence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said his reading of the state ’ s murder statute was in line with the prosecution ’ s .
The defense attorneys have taken their arguments to California ’ s 5th District Court of Appeal , which they ’ re asking to prohibit the lower court from continuing with the prosecution .
They ’ re awaiting a response .
Becker was recently released into the Kings County Jail ’ s general population after having been placed in isolation when news of her case hit the papers in November .
She said she ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ supportive and kind.
” She ’ s also heartened by the support the case has received from advocates .
“ I felt alone when I first got here , ” Becker said .
“ But now I know that there are people who know I need and deserve help.
” If the charge is dismissed , advocates hope the ruling will bolster the case to free Adora Perez , 32 , who is two years into an 11-year sentence at the state prison in Chowchilla .
The facts are nearly identical : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2018 after she gave birth to a stillborn baby at the same hospital where Becker had her stillbirth , with staff calling the coroner ’ s office .
Perez was assigned the same public defender as Becker and appeared before the same judge .
Unlike Becker ‘ s , Perez ’ s case did not initially draw the attention of national news outlets or advocacy groups .
Her counsel didn ’ t challenge the legality of the proceedings and Perez took a plea agreement , pleading no contest to a charge of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was able to hire a private attorney , who filed a motion to withdraw the plea .
But Judge Burns denied the motion and handed Perez a prison sentence .
A court denied a subsequent appeal .
Fagundes defended the agreement , saying it “ provides Ms. Perez with an ability to rehabilitate her life , and although she can not bring her fetus back to life , she can be a better mother to her surviving children .
”

Chelsea Becker was arrested Nov. 6 after giving birth to a stillborn boy who had toxic levels of methamphetamine in his body. Her case has drawn the attention of national news outlets and advocacy groups.
It sounds like a nightmare scenario for women’s rights in California. Every time a woman suffers a late-term miscarriage or gives birth to a stillborn baby, she could potentially become the target of a homicide investigation, with police visiting homes and delivery rooms to carry out interrogations.
Yet some medical and civil rights groups say that scenario is not so far-fetched if the murder prosecution of Chelsea Becker is permitted to proceed in a rural county of the San Joaquin Valley. They say it could judicially rewrite the state’s homicide statute, expanding it to apply to any pregnant woman whose conduct might have resulted in the loss of her pregnancy.
“These are potentially dangerous precedents which make all women who have any not-perfect pregnancy event criminally liable for that event,” said Dr. Mishka Terplan of UC San Francisco, an expert in the fields of pregnancy and addiction. “And that should terrify everyone.”
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The Kings County district attorney maintains the prosecution is driven by law, not by politics.
“The conduct of the defendant resulted in the death of a fetus, which is a crime in California,” said Dist. Atty. Keith Fagundes, who declined interview requests and responded to questions only through emails.
Yet the controversy is playing out as antiabortion groups seek new laws and legal rulings to limit reproductive rights in many states, with California not separate from the fray.
Becker gave birth to Zachariah Joseph at Adventist Health Hanford in the early-morning hours of Sept. 10, 2019. He never had a pulse.
Becker had a history of methamphetamine addiction, and the coroner launched a criminal investigation after being contacted by hospital staff.
About a month and a half later, the district attorney’s office filed a complaint charging Becker, now 26, with murder. Authorities said an autopsy showed her child had toxic levels of meth in his system.
After a brief search that drew national news coverage, Becker was arrested Nov. 6. She remains imprisoned in the Kings County Jail in lieu of $2-million bail.
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Her case has gained broad support from legal rights, medical and advocacy organizations. She has replaced a public defender with a team of high-powered attorneys provided by the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, which also launched a public relations campaign demanding her release.
Fifteen groups have signed on to a legal brief calling for the prosecution to be dropped. The American Civil Liberties Union also has submitted a brief, saying it has successfully defended women in California three times under nearly identical circumstances.
“People are up in arms about this,” said Mary Sylla, senior staff attorney with the Drug Policy Alliance, who helped prepare the brief signed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, among other groups. “It’s anti-woman. I can’t imagine another situation where we would be incarcerating somebody for something that would be as personally painful as losing a child.”
In comments relayed by her attorney, Becker said she was cautiously optimistic. “I’d like to be positive. I feel like [the case] should be dismissed because of how the legislation was written,” she said. “But this is Kings County and they do whatever they want here.”
California Addicts with stillborn babies are being charged with murder in California A California woman is at the center of a legal and ethical debate about how the justice system is policing women’s bodies and treating mothers with addiction.
At the heart of the case is a 1970 revision to California’s murder statute that added a fetus as a potential victim.
Legislators made the change after the state Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction of a Stockton man who had beaten his estranged wife, causing her to deliver a stillborn baby. Subsequent amendments explicitly exempted abortions, as well as “any act resulting in the death of the fetus where that act was solicited, aided, abetted or consented to by the mother of the fetus.”
Kings County prosecutors have argued that the wording means a woman can be charged with the murder of her own unborn child, provided she did not seek a lawful abortion.
“The law does not exempt a late-term mother to do an act that results in death to her fetus,” Fagundes said.
California courts that have considered the issue have unanimously agreed that the murder law cannot be applied to a woman for killing her own fetus.
First there was Roseann Jaurigue, 36, of Gilroy, whose stillborn baby’s death in 1992 authorities blamed on cocaine use. Defense attorneys submitted an affidavit from former state Assembly Speaker Craig Biddle, the primary author of the 1970 amendment to the murder statute. He wrote that its sole intent was “to make punishable as murder a third party’s willful assault on a pregnant woman resulting in the death of her fetus.”
“No legislator ever suggested that this legislation, as it was finally adopted, could be used to make punishable as murder conduct by a pregnant woman that resulted in the death of her fetus,” Biddle wrote.
A San Benito County Superior Court judge ordered the charge dismissed.
A Justice Court in Siskiyou County made a similar ruling the following year, noting that state lawmakers considered bills in 1987, 1989 and 1991 that would allow drug-using mothers to be charged with child endangerment, manslaughter and a misdemeanor offense, respectively. Lawmakers rejected each measure.
The ACLU says it also represented Jackie Lynn Johnson of Contra Costa County in 1995 after she was charged with murder for allegedly using methamphetamine while pregnant. Prosecutors eventually dropped the case.
“The facts of the [Becker] case are strikingly similar to the cases that we brought in the past,” said Jennifer Chou, reproductive and gender equity attorney for the ACLU of Northern California. “It’s 30 years later, but we’re at a moment in time where there is increased attention to drug use, where there is heightened politicization of reproductive rights.”
If Becker’s case goes to trial, it will be the first time a California court has permitted the murder prosecution of a woman for acts she committed while pregnant that resulted in the loss of her child. “A woman could be charged with murder for jaywalking if that resulted in the end of her pregnancy,” Chou said.
In a legal filing justifying the charge, prosecutors cited two research articles, saying they show it’s public knowledge “that a mother’s methamphetamine use can cause serious harm or death to a viable unborn child.”
That’s not true, said Dr. Barry Lester, an author of the articles, professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and director of the school’s Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk.
“Let me put it this way: I can’t believe they read those articles and came to this conclusion,” said Lester, who has asked the prosecution to file a correction. “Because we didn’t even study the phenomenon.” His colleague, Dr. Donald DeRauf of the Mayo Clinic, also signed a statement saying the citations were inaccurate.
While the papers didn’t address the topic, the study on which they were based actually showed no higher incidence of death among babies who were exposed to methamphetamine than it did among a control group, Lester said.
“The main takeaway that we learned was that what these drugs seem to do is that they make a baby a little more fragile,” Lester said. “They don’t cause brain damage. They certainly don’t cause death. … Ultimately, it’s the interplay of the effects of the drug and the effects of the environment that determine the outcome of the kid.”
Other studies have come to similar conclusions, said Dr. Tricia Wright of UC San Francisco, a clinician and researcher who has written papers on meth use during pregnancy. Along with Terplan, she signed an affidavit calling for the case to be dropped.
“While [meth use] can be a risk factor for a stillbirth, it’s certainly not causative — any more than prosecuting someone for having diabetes during pregnancy, which can also increase the risk of stillbirth,” she said.
Fagundes said the research cited by his office “is largely irrelevant at this stage, because the medical findings in this case conclude that Zachariah C., the full-term fetus, had lethal levels by adult standards of methamphetamine in his blood.”
He also denied there were political undertones to the prosecution, calling himself “neither pro-life nor pro-death.”
Opinion Editorial: Her baby was born dead because she used drugs. That doesn’t make her a murderer Chelsea Becker used meth while she was pregnant and gave birth to a stillborn baby. She’s a poor excuse for a mother. But she’s not a murderer.
The case has shone a bright spotlight on Fagundes. The lifelong Hanford resident and son of a Kings County supervisor was elected district attorney of the conservative-leaning county in 2014 after winning the backing of law enforcement associations.
In late April, the National Advocates for Pregnant Women launched a campaign urging people to contact the district attorney and tell him to dismiss the murder charge. Fagundes said that write-in campaign could be seen as an effort “to intimidate and influence a prosecution.”
The Kings County Superior Court sided with his office in early June, denying an application by Becker’s lawyers to dismiss the case. Judge Robert Burns said he found the 1993 affidavit signed by Biddle, which the defense team resubmitted as evidence, to be unconvincing.
The judge also said his reading of the state’s murder statute was in line with the prosecution’s.
The defense attorneys have taken their arguments to California’s 5th District Court of Appeal, which they’re asking to prohibit the lower court from continuing with the prosecution. They’re awaiting a response.
Becker was recently released into the Kings County Jail’s general population after having been placed in isolation when news of her case hit the papers in November. She said she’s found her fellow inmates to be “supportive and kind.” She’s also heartened by the support the case has received from advocates.
“I felt alone when I first got here,” Becker said. “But now I know that there are people who know I need and deserve help.”
If the charge is dismissed, advocates hope the ruling will bolster the case to free Adora Perez, 32, who is two years into an 11-year sentence at the state prison in Chowchilla.
The facts are nearly identical: Fagundes charged the Hanford woman with murder in 2018 after she gave birth to a stillborn baby at the same hospital where Becker had her stillbirth, with staff calling the coroner’s office. Perez was assigned the same public defender as Becker and appeared before the same judge.
Unlike Becker‘s, Perez’s case did not initially draw the attention of national news outlets or advocacy groups. Her counsel didn’t challenge the legality of the proceedings and Perez took a plea agreement, pleading no contest to a charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Weeks later, Perez was able to hire a private attorney, who filed a motion to withdraw the plea. But Judge Burns denied the motion and handed Perez a prison sentence. A court denied a subsequent appeal.
Fagundes defended the agreement, saying it “provides Ms. Perez with an ability to rehabilitate her life, and although she cannot bring her fetus back to life, she can be a better mother to her surviving children.”


latimes--2020-08-04--Coronavirus surge slowing in California, but don't expect a repeat of reopening fever

There are growing glimmers of hope that California ’ s surge in coronavirus cases could be peaking — but don ’ t expect the pandemic-shattered economy to share much of this progress in the short term .
A Los Angeles Times analysis found that California has now experienced its first weekly reduction in new confirmed coronavirus cases for the first time in 12 weeks .
For the seven-day period that ended Sunday , California reported 59,697 new coronavirus cases , a drop of 9 % from the previous week of 65,634 cases , which was a pandemic record .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a turning point after weeks of record hospitalizations that began in mid-June , the result of California starting to rapidly reopen the economy in May .
Allowing many businesses to reopen their doors in May and June seemed like a moment of triumph , with California celebrating a seeming miracle in avoiding the huge death tolls of hotspots like New York and New Jersey .
But the subsequent summertime spikes in disease have humbled the Golden State , and epidemiologists and other public health experts said the only way to prevent surges is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means continued restrictions of public movements and better education and outreach about how to prevent new outbreaks .
It also means setting better and narrower priorities — such as putting an emphasis on schools reopening over allowing bars and indoor dining rooms to resume operations .
They were shut down again in late June and early July .
“ We have learned how dangerous indoor environments are for transmission , ” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo , chair of UC San Francisco ’ s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics .
“ Frankly , those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restaurants are those types of very discretionary things that I don ’ t think we can take a risk on at a time when we ’ re talking about ” schools unable to be opened .
The surge in California cases has been blamed on several factors , including a failure to follow new disease control measures at workplaces , leading to the rapid spread of disease among lower-income and essential workers in factories , agriculture and other businesses , as well as people getting back to old habits like parties and summer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expect people to become complacent as they have , which provides more opportunities for transmission , ” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , medical epidemiologist and infectious-diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health .
That resulted in reclosing bars and limiting restaurant service to outdoor dining or takeout , and “ we end up on a roller coaster ride.
” On Monday , officials vowed to do things differently this time as they cited progress in efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 .
“ We ’ re cautiously optimistic that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to slowing the spread of COVID-19 , ” said Barbara Ferrer , L.A. County ’ s public health director .
L.A. County reported an average of 2,594 new cases daily over the past week on Sunday , down from its peak of 3,284 on July 17 , which Ferrer said is “ still really high , but it does show progress.
” Ferrer said the improvements mean that “ simply put , closing the bars worked .
It also worked to limit indoor dining at restaurants and to move the operations of various @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ferrer credited Angelenos with increasingly wearing face masks and avoiding gatherings and parties .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom said it would take a few weeks before knowing for certain whether California was on an improving path .
“ We can quickly find ourselves back to where we were just a few weeks ago , a month ago , with significant increases if we do not maintain our vigilance , ” Newsom said Monday .
“ Until we have a vaccine , we are going to be living with this virus.
” One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different this time is looking for not only consistent stabilization of key pandemic numbers — as occurred before the first reopening — but consistent declines as well .
And Newsom said he ’ s realized that there needs to be greater efforts on educating the public about how to reduce the spread of disease , and that will be “ foundational in terms of any subsequent efforts to reopen.
” In the first reopening , too many Californians resumed gatherings and did not wear masks , he said , planting the seeds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Let ’ s not relive that experience again , ” Newsom said .
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong , professor of medicine and an infectious disease specialist at UC San Francisco , warned that California is now at a higher plateau of disease than it was when the first surge seemed to ease .
And failing to reduce disease transmission in hotspots can easily help ignite a renewed surge of cases .
“ The plateau wasn ’ t where we were in March or early April .
It ’ s at a higher level , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re at that high point , you can go up very easily to then tip over into not having hospital resources .
...
The risk is much higher.
” Kim-Farley , of UCLA , said California is still in its first wave of the disease , but its second plateau .
“ We can ’ t expect to reopen again soon ; we have to be at least at the level of the first plateau and dropping before we can further reopen , ” Kim-Farley said .
Most California counties have much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case rates low enough to begin contemplating business reopenings .
One of the state ’ s criteria is having counties have fewer than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents over a two-week period ; as of Tuesday morning , San Bernardino County has a rate of 437 ; L.A. County , 344 ; Riverside County , 342 ; Ventura County , 251 ; Orange County , 248 ; and San Diego County , 184 .
Many counties in the Central Valley are hard hit ; Kern County is the worst in the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases per 100,000 residents in the last two weeks ; rural counties are hit hard , too , with Imperial County reporting a rate of 467 and Mono County , home to Mammoth Lakes , at 430 .
Reductions in cases were seen regionally throughout the state .
The five-county Southern California area — L.A. , Orange , Riverside , San Bernardino and Ventura counties — has now experienced two consecutive weeks of falling weekly case numbers , and recorded 30,662 last week , down 16 % from its weekly high two weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
San Diego County has also experienced two consecutive weeks of declines in cases , recording 2,899 cases last week , down 23 % from the number two weeks ago .
The nine-county San Francisco Bay Area reported 6,661 cases last week , a 3 % drop from its previous week ; the seven-county Sacramento region , 1,787 cases , a 33 % drop .
The eight-county San Joaquin Valley experienced 14,295 cases last week , an 11 % decrease from the previous week ’ s total of 15,874 .
But last week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than it was three weeks ago , when 8,837 cases were recorded .
The rate at which coronavirus test results are positive is also declining .
It was above 8 % in early July ; as of Monday , the statewide seven-day positive test rate fell to 6.1 % .
In L.A. County , the positive test rate has been stable , between 8 % and 8.8 % over the past month .
Statewide hospitalizations also stopped its relentless climb .
California experienced a daily average of 6,632 people in hospitals with confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % drop from the previous week , when an average of 6,969 people were hospitalized .
Deaths , however , are a lagging indicator of the pandemic , and continue to climb to record levels .
Last week , 945 Californians died from COVID-19 , the worst such weekly number in the pandemic and a 9 % increase from the previous week .
An average of 135 Californians a day died last week from the pandemic .
The case numbers in L.A. County alone are so overwhelming — cumulatively more than 193,000 — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nation of South Korea faced in its pandemic , which has recorded fewer than 15,000 cases .
South Korea , with a population of 51 million people , never saw more than 1,000 positive cases in a single day , Ferrer said , while L.A. County , with a population of 10 million , routinely experiences double or triple that volume daily , a pace that has persisted for more than a month .
Relying on contact tracing — the process by which county health officials reach out to newly infected people and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them to quarantine — is proving to not be as effective as once hoped , given the astonishing number of cases .
In nearly one-third of cases , newly infected people in L.A. County either refused to talk to a county disease investigator or they could not be found .
Officials are now offering $ 20 gift cards to encourage people to complete the interview .
Healthcare workers statewide are increasingly getting infected ; an average of 374 healthcare workers were getting infected daily statewide last week ; that ’ s up 84 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alcoholic Beverage Control and county health officials have launched an investigation over reports of a large indoor party allegedly attended by L.A. County sheriff ’ s personnel at a Hollywood bar .
The Sheriff ’ s Department on Saturday denied it hosted the event and said it is investigating .
“ There is really zero tolerance for having indoor parties , ” Ferrer said .
Even healthcare professionals can become complacent .
At one hospital , officials realized it was communal dining among nurses or physicians that was spreading the coronavirus among coworkers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , basically , ” Dr. Carlos del Rio , professor at Emory University School of Medicine , said at a recent UC San Francisco webinar .

Family nurse practitioner Willie Rios collects a specimen for a coronavirus test from Araceli Merlos at St. John’s Well Child and Family Center on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
There are growing glimmers of hope that California’s surge in coronavirus cases could be peaking — but don’t expect the pandemic-shattered economy to share much of this progress in the short term.
A Los Angeles Times analysis found that California has now experienced its first weekly reduction in new confirmed coronavirus cases for the first time in 12 weeks. For the seven-day period that ended Sunday, California reported 59,697 new coronavirus cases, a drop of 9% from the previous week of 65,634 cases, which was a pandemic record.
If the trends continue, it would mark a turning point after weeks of record hospitalizations that began in mid-June, the result of California starting to rapidly reopen the economy in May.
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Allowing many businesses to reopen their doors in May and June seemed like a moment of triumph, with California celebrating a seeming miracle in avoiding the huge death tolls of hot spots like New York and New Jersey.
But the subsequent summertime spikes in disease have humbled the Golden State, and epidemiologists and other public health experts said the only way to prevent surges is to learn from past failure. That means continued restrictions of public movements and better education and outreach about how to prevent new outbreaks.
It also means setting better and narrower priorities — such as putting an emphasis on schools reopening over allowing bars and indoor dining rooms to resume operations. They were shut down again in late June and early July.
“We have learned how dangerous indoor environments are for transmission,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chair of UC San Francisco’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “Frankly, those things like indoor dining and bars and restaurants are those types of very discretionary things that I don’t think we can take a risk on at a time when we’re talking about” schools unable to be opened.
The surge in California cases has been blamed on several factors, including a failure to follow new disease control measures at workplaces, leading to the rapid spread of disease among lower-income and essential workers in factories, agriculture and other businesses, as well as people getting back to old habits like parties and summer gatherings.
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“We didn’t expect people to become complacent as they have, which provides more opportunities for transmission,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious-diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. That resulted in reclosing bars and limiting restaurant service to outdoor dining or takeout, and “we end up on a roller coaster ride.”
On Monday, officials vowed to do things differently this time as they cited progress in efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that we’re getting back on track to slowing the spread of COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, L.A. County’s public health director. L.A. County reported an average of 2,594 new cases daily over the past week on Sunday, down from its peak of 3,284 on July 17, which Ferrer said is “still really high, but it does show progress.”
Ferrer said the improvements mean that “simply put, closing the bars worked. It also worked to limit indoor dining at restaurants and to move the operations of various businesses and institutions outdoors.” In addition, Ferrer credited Angelenos with increasingly wearing face masks and avoiding gatherings and parties.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said it would take a few weeks before knowing for certain whether California was on an improving path.
“We can quickly find ourselves back to where we were just a few weeks ago, a month ago, with significant increases if we do not maintain our vigilance,” Newsom said Monday. “Until we have a vaccine, we are going to be living with this virus.”
One of the things Newsom said would be different this time is looking for not only consistent stabilization of key pandemic numbers — as occurred before the first reopening — but consistent declines as well. And Newsom said he’s realized that there needs to be greater efforts on educating the public about how to reduce the spread of disease, and that will be “foundational in terms of any subsequent efforts to reopen.”
In the first reopening, too many Californians resumed gatherings and did not wear masks, he said, planting the seeds of the second resurgence of disease.
“Let’s not relive that experience again,” Newsom said.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, professor of medicine and an infectious disease specialist at UC San Francisco, warned that California is now at a higher plateau of disease than it was when the first surge seemed to ease. And failing to reduce disease transmission in hot spots can easily help ignite a renewed surge of cases.
“The plateau wasn’t where we were in March or early April. It’s at a higher level,” Chin-Hong said. “When you’re at that high point, you can go up very easily to then tip over into not having hospital resources. ... The risk is much higher.”
Kim-Farley, of UCLA, said California is still in its first wave of the disease, but its second plateau. “We can’t expect to reopen again soon; we have to be at least at the level of the first plateau and dropping before we can further reopen,” Kim-Farley said.
Most California counties have much to do before they can get new case rates low enough to begin contemplating business reopenings. One of the state’s criteria is having counties have fewer than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents over a two-week period; as of Tuesday morning, San Bernardino County has a rate of 437; L.A. County, 344; Riverside County, 342; Ventura County, 251; Orange County, 248; and San Diego County, 184.
Many counties in the Central Valley are hard hit; Kern County is the worst in the state, with a rate of 1,293 new cases per 100,000 residents in the last two weeks; rural counties are hit hard, too, with Imperial County reporting a rate of 467 and Mono County, home to Mammoth Lakes, at 430.
Reductions in cases were seen regionally throughout the state. The five-county Southern California area — L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties — has now experienced two consecutive weeks of falling weekly case numbers, and recorded 30,662 last week, down 16% from its weekly high two weeks ago, when 36,637 cases were reported.
San Diego County has also experienced two consecutive weeks of declines in cases, recording 2,899 cases last week, down 23% from the number two weeks ago. The nine-county San Francisco Bay Area reported 6,661 cases last week, a 3% drop from its previous week; the seven-county Sacramento region, 1,787 cases, a 33% drop.
The eight-county San Joaquin Valley experienced 14,295 cases last week, an 11% decrease from the previous week’s total of 15,874. But last week’s number was still much higher than it was three weeks ago, when 8,837 cases were recorded.
The rate at which coronavirus test results are positive is also declining. It was above 8% in early July; as of Monday, the statewide seven-day positive test rate fell to 6.1%. In L.A. County, the positive test rate has been stable, between 8% and 8.8% over the past month.
Statewide hospitalizations also stopped its relentless climb. California experienced a daily average of 6,632 people in hospitals with confirmed coronavirus infections last week, a 5% drop from the previous week, when an average of 6,969 people were hospitalized.
Deaths, however, are a lagging indicator of the pandemic, and continue to climb to record levels. Last week, 945 Californians died from COVID-19, the worst such weekly number in the pandemic and a 9% increase from the previous week. An average of 135 Californians a day died last week from the pandemic.
There remain challenges.
The case numbers in L.A. County alone are so overwhelming — cumulatively more than 193,000 — that they dwarf the experience the entire nation of South Korea faced in its pandemic, which has recorded fewer than 15,000 cases.
South Korea, with a population of 51 million people, never saw more than 1,000 positive cases in a single day, Ferrer said, while L.A. County, with a population of 10 million, routinely experiences double or triple that volume daily, a pace that has persisted for more than a month.
Relying on contact tracing — the process by which county health officials reach out to newly infected people and try to identify close contacts and get them to quarantine — is proving to not be as effective as once hoped, given the astonishing number of cases. In nearly one-third of cases, newly infected people in L.A. County either refused to talk to a county disease investigator or they could not be found. Officials are now offering $20 gift cards to encourage people to complete the interview.
Healthcare workers statewide are increasingly getting infected; an average of 374 healthcare workers were getting infected daily statewide last week; that’s up 84% over the past month.
State Alcoholic Beverage Control and county health officials have launched an investigation over reports of a large indoor party allegedly attended by L.A. County sheriff’s personnel at a Hollywood bar. The Sheriff’s Department on Saturday denied it hosted the event and said it is investigating.
“There is really zero tolerance for having indoor parties,” Ferrer said.
Even healthcare professionals can become complacent. At one hospital, officials realized it was communal dining among nurses or physicians that was spreading the coronavirus among coworkers. “Social events have gone away, basically,” Dr. Carlos del Rio, professor at Emory University School of Medicine, said at a recent UC San Francisco webinar.
Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.