DA probes Harris case (UPDATED AND CORRECTED)
UPDATED: 6:32 P.M.
DA spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons asks for a correction and gets it. (See comment below.) A group of reporters gathered downtown were apparently handed a statement from DA Steve Cooley.
My bad. I won't go into the whys of why I wrote press conference. It wasn't. That's that.
CORRECTED ENTRY BELOW:
District Attorney Steve Cooley issued a statement Tuesday to stem the tide of embarassment his office is suffering and announce that an internal investigation into the Curtis Harrris Monica Thomas-Harris murder suicide would begin.
Cooley said his office would investigate why prosecutors agreed to a stipulation in Harris' criminal case that allowed him to go free, stalk his ex-wife and ultimately kill her and himself in a Whittier Motel Saturday morning.
We'll have more on the story in tomorrow's paper.
Comments
Frank -- Get your facts straight before you publish them. The D.A. did not hold a press conference. I released the District Attorney's written statement. That does not constitute a press conference -- at least it didn't when I was a reporter and editor.
Sandi Gibbons
Public Information Officer
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Posted by: Sandi Gibbons | January 8, 2008 6:26 PM
Ms. Gibbons are you as upset with the bonehead decision of someone in your office who agreed to release Harris as you are about Frank's minor mistake?
Harris had a healthy raps and a negative probation report from what I read and yet your office agreed to his release.
Now his wife is dead. Getting all defensive about Frank's minor mistake is silly in comparison.
Local Boy
Posted by: Local Boy | January 8, 2008 6:54 PM
Amen Local Boy, call 'em as you see 'em (even if I am in your sights for a goof).
Posted by: frazgo | January 8, 2008 7:14 PM
You're never in my sights Frazgo. It's all give and take.
Local Boy
Posted by: Local Boy | January 8, 2008 9:53 PM
The Da's office should be held criminally responsible for what happened. The judge and the da's office should face criminal charges. Your going to let a guy out of jail so he can take care of things, so that he doesn't lose his house while he serves 16 months in state prison. Are you kidding me, since when do we just let people out of jail to get things taken care of before they go to prison. Look if he would have gone to prison and lost his house among other things that he owned, that's his own fault.
Posted by: Jason | January 9, 2008 12:08 AM
Local Boy,
Props on handing it to Sandi. I wonder why she hasn't responded?
Jason,
And lets not overlook the role our overcrowded prisons play in releasing violent offenders.
Our disproportionate sentences for non-violent drug offenses means the jails are clogged with people better suited for rehabilitation.
Posted by: usagain | January 9, 2008 8:33 AM
The Harris incident should be a warning to all law abiding citizens of California.. Brace yourselves or arm yourselves..
Posted by: Art Robledo | January 9, 2008 11:44 AM