Why Is Attorney General Jerry Brown Defending Violence?

On January 20, 2004, California Youth Authority guards were pressuring Narciso Morales to sign a "gang contract."  Narciso did not belong to a gang and knew that if he signed, the guards could easily add time to his sentence.  He refused to risk these "time adds" and declined to sign the contract.  The guards brutally beat Narciso as a result.

Six years later, he and his family still have not gotten justice. Now the case is headed to a civil trial in Stockton. And the State of California and Attorney General's office is funding the guards' defense.

What's more, nearly six years and hundreds of millions of dollars since the state agreed to reform the California Youth Authority (now Division of Juvenile Justice), very little has changed.  Youth still are placed on facilities that are hundreds of miles from their families, face abusive conditions and endure the longest youth prison stays in the nation -- because of the very same "time adds" Narciso feared.

To bring justice to Narciso and to all youth in the DJJ, the State of California should:

• Stop supporting the guards who committed this violence and refuse to pay for their defense
• Settle the case and stop wasting tax payer dollars defending indefensible actions
• Eliminate time adds; in specific they should support Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner’s bill to eliminate time adds

The Attorney General Jerry Brown is ultimately responsible for defending the state in this case. Demand justice for Narciso and all youth in the Division of Juvenile Justice.