Mothers Claim Kids Railroaded Into Jails

A new group dubbed “Mothers for Justice” marched outside the Los Angeles Criminal Courts Building in downtown Friday against what members termed an unfair justice system that is railroading children into jail.

The group of 40 demonstrators says a combination of overzealous prosecutors and inept defense attorneys is responsible for wrongfully convicting many young people and overemphasizing minor offenses.

Rosa Perez of Whittier said her 28-year-old son, Juan Jesus Perez, received a 33-year sentence based on his stealing some socks at a high school, robbing a wallet of $10, and then violating his parole.

Perez, showing a picture of her son, said his sentences are badly out of proportion with the seriousness of his offenses. “I want my son home with me,” she cried.

District attorney officials said they were unable to respond to her complaint because they could not immediately identify the case in their records.

The group’s chief organizer, Carlos Rodriguez of Glendale, said there is little justice for poor members of minority groups.

“Our goal is to reform both the district attorney’s office and the defense bar,” he said. “The D.A. is interested only in prosecutions, and the defense attorneys seem mainly interested in earning money.”

Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, said she was unaware of the group or its demonstration Friday. “I can assure the public that the job of every deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County is to seek justice by learning the truth,” she said.

“Sometimes that causes prosecutors to learn circumstances about a case that prompts them to have that case dismissed.”