Fresno DA Lisa Smittcamp is either playing blame game, or seeking justice | Opinion

Smittcamp rightly speaks for victims

Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp is continuing to demonstrate her adeptness to convey criminal awareness to the state of California. In regards to AB 109, known as “prison realignment law,” she has spoken out in retaliation for other families that have experienced pain because of this inane decree.

In 2018, my family suffered the loss of our son, Gavin Gladding, by a hit-and-run driver. With the leadership of Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno), we have fought unsuccessfully since 2019 to increase the penalty for this felony from 2-4 years to 4-6 years. AB 582, known as Gavin’s Law, will return to Sacramento this spring with another attempt at changing this lenient sentencing. We beg for a mere 2-year increase.

Though pleading for the maximum sentence, Gavin’s killer, Rogelio Alverez Miravilla, was sentenced to 3 years. Our first injustice. The final slap came when he was released 13 months later.

If Californians are curious as to how this could happen, just look to AB 109 for an answer. It won’t be pretty.

My condolences to the family of Selma police officer Gonzalo Carraco Jr.

Smittcamp merely played blame game

In Lisa Smittcamp’s spitefully peevish and wholly unprofessional tirade, she displayed for all to see her inability to behave like an adult. Her obvious anti-Democrat bent of mind is an insult to the legal professionals who conduct themselves in a controlled manner.

In fact, she herself let that felon off with a hand slap long before he killed a (Selma) police officer in cold blood. So to cover, she screams at Gov. Newsom to deflect the focus on the blood on her own hands. Just like the parade of Karens we read about in the news, her no-class rant is clearly indicative of a person incapable of doing much more than playing the blame game.

It is my hope the good people of Fresno vote this immature person out in favor of a woman/man who can be the professional this job demands. Absolutely unconsionable.

Smittcamp is a real DA, thankfully

The Fresno Bee Editorial Board staff have been critical of Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux and Fresno County DA Lisa Smittcamp for using two recent high-profile crimes for political gain by speaking out against the suspension of the death penalty in Boudreaux’s case, and failed prison reform in Smittcamp’s case.

First, they’re both speaking for good citizens everywhere who are sick and tired of repeat offenders being continually released back into society, usually long before their original sentence has been served.

Second, bad timing? When could there possibly be a better time to speak about these issues than after high-profile crimes such as these?

I’m not including criticism of Bee columnist Marek Warszawski in this letter because to do so would suggest that he’s someone to be taken seriously, which he clearly is not. He is and always has been nothing more than a spokesperson for anti-law enforcement.

While LA and SF have a couple of impostors posing as district attorneys, Fresno County is fortunate to have a real DA in Lisa Smittcamp.

Rich don’t pay, that’s the problem

Republicans are considering making budget cuts to address our national debt. They say that we have a spending problem. However, they have failed to look at the other side of the budget coin. That’s the loss of revenue.

It started in 2017 when Trump gave ultra-rich corporations a huge financial break by reducing their existing 35% tax rate to a 21% tax rate. That was a significant financial gain for the richest companies in America and a dramatic loss of revenue for the federal government and the people it serves.

Why are the richest corporations in America taxed at a rate that’s below what most of us pay? I would recommend that we return to the 35% tax rate for large corporations, which had been the corporate tax rate in America since the days of Ronald Reagan’s presidency.

Congress has recently authorized an increase in spending to hire additional IRS personnel to reveal taxpayer fraud for those making over $400,000 a year. This could potentially add billions of dollars to the budget. However, most Republicans are against that plan. Apparently, they aren’t interested in seeing that the rich pay their fair share to support this country.

‘MTG’ McClintock doesn’t get it

One would think that after over 40 years in politics, Congressman Tom “Marjorie Taylor Greene” McClintock would have a better understanding of the debt ceiling. On Jan. 25, on Fresno’s Fox 26’s “Connect to Congress,” he made a false credit card analogy that’s been repeatedly debunked.

During his appearance, Rep. Tom “Marjorie Taylor Greene” McClintock said that the debt ceiling limit forces Americans to review our credit card spending, and use the debt ceiling to have a painful family discussion. However, this analogy is backward. The debt ceiling isn’t about borrowing more money. It is about paying the credit card company. When a family doesn’t pay their credit on time, their credit rating is lowered. This is no different.

After so long in government, it is astonishing that a professional like Rep. Tom “Marjorie Taylor Greene” McClintock would continue to make such an obviously false analogy. Is it possible that this ignorance explains his debt ceiling position? Does he truly believe, after more than 40 years in government, that the debt ceiling is about future borrowing rather than past spending? Is that possible? Either he truly thinks so, or George Santos’ lying ways have infected the entire GOP caucus.

This story was originally published February 12, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Fresno DA Lisa Smittcamp is either playing blame game, or seeking justice | Opinion."