LOS ANGELES : Supervisors Seek Better Protection for Witnesses
The Board of Supervisors asked the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office Tuesday to look for ways to offer more protection to people who agree to testify about violent crimes.
“We cannot get the public to come forward,” said Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. “We should ask the district attorney to come forward with an effective witness protection program.”
Burke said the existing program offers only $1,200 to help a witness move away from suspects in a case.
The board also agreed to offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of Donnette Lloyd. The 17-year-old Walnut Park honor student was the victim of a May 20 drive-by attack.
“This killing was done in front of many witnesses,” Burke said. “No one is going to come forward if they think that they’re going to get killed.”
Burke noted that two women whose testimony led to the murder conviction of a cocaine dealer recently were murdered. “These deaths are reminders of the ongoing difficulty our judicial system faces in keeping its witnesses safe from retaliatory violence,” Burke said.
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