California's Criminal Justice Reform Needs Reform

The John Phillips Show

The episode examines the fallout of California's bail reform laws following a fatal shooting in Placer County involving a repeat offender. T

Key takeaways

• Derek Spencer, a repeat offender, killed 76-year-old Cheryl Barron after being released on bail multiple times in one month.
• California's bail reform laws are criticized for prioritizing the rights of criminals over victims and limiting judicial discretion.

Main topics

• California Bail Reform
• Placer County Shooting

Notable quotes

The system willingly sacrificed her in the name of wokeness.

Conclusion

The episode highlights a growing tension in California between progres

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) We can agree to disagree, but our views are unapologetically right. It's the John Phillips Show. Speaker 3 (0:11) And we continue at 2.05 in the afternoon on the John Phillips Show. Mr. Randy Wings in Culver City. I Speaker 5 (0:19) planned these little videos for the commercial breaks on YouTube like a couple of days in advance. I didn't realize that the video I had planned for 1.59 was us talking about Ken Houston finding the finger. Ken Houston's getting a lot of love on today's show. Hey, we're broadcasting live on radio on 790k ABC and 810k SFO, but... You got to get to the party. The party's right here on video every single day. The chat room is lively. JohnnyDon'tLike.com. That's Johnny with a Y. Get in there. JohnnyDon'tLike.com. Hit like, hit subscribe, and share with your friends, your family, your neighbors, your coworkers. Share with everybody. We don't have a marketing department, so we need word of mouth, and this show is growing every single day because, well... You're doing it. You're telling people about this show. Anyone can watch it from anywhere because YouTube goes everywhere. Speaker 3 (1:11) 800-222-5222 is the telephone number 1-800-222-5222. Well, there are a lot of disasters in the state of California, and some of those disasters lead to deadly consequences. And Randy, that certainly includes California's bail laws. Speaker 5 (1:33) There was a horrific incident reported yesterday about a woman that was killed by an absolute monster who had been arrested over and over and over and over again in just the last couple of weeks. But California's new bail rules say that you got to keep offering it, even if it's obvious they are going to continue to reoffend and offend and offend. For more on this. We got a Fox 40 in Sacramento. Speaker 1 (2:03) Just looking for a place to get off the main road. And unfortunately for Miss Macy, it was her residence. From there, it was just madness. Speaker 5 (2:11) You think that guy does mall Santa during December months? I Speaker 3 (2:16) think he's a prospector. Speaker 8 (2:18) But first, our top story at 10 o'clock tonight. A woman is killed during a shootout that happened in Placer County. The sheriff's office telling Fox 40 what started with a report of an armed man very quickly escalated. to a more than 12-hour manhunt. And during that time, authorities say the suspect, Derek Spencer, rammed a deputy's vehicle, fired at law enforcement, started multiple fires, and killed the 76-year-old woman, Cheryl Barron. And Speaker 5 (2:41) remember, this guy was already in custody several times this month. Speaker 8 (2:48) Thanks for being with us tonight for Fox 40 news at 10 o'clock. I'm Eric Harriman. Nikki has the night off. Fox 40's Romina Shattuck joining us live from Placer County with more details about the woman who died as well as the suspect's criminal history leading up to all of this row. Speaker 3 (3:03) You know, when people have criminal histories like that, it's like a dog with rabies. There's nothing you can do. You can't educate them. You can't give them therapy. You can't change them. They're just evil, and you have to lock them up in a cage. Speaker 4 (3:22) Well, Eric Sherrick, Cheryl worked for the Placer County District Attorney's Office for 14 years, leaving in 2020 and people there described her as a friend of valued colleague and also someone that made many contributions to the community. But tonight, law enforcement officials are speaking out about what they called a flawed system, something that would allow a man who was arrested multiple times for felony crimes just this month alone and then. only to be released to commit more crimes, including killing Cheryl. Speaker 5 (3:56) This is the kind of story where you need to hear, you need to watch to know just how far the pendulum has swung into the land of insanity. We talk all the time about how we don't want nonviolent people in prison. We want to make sure that we have redemption. And this is the kind of people we give chance after chance after chance after chance to until they kill somebody. Speaker 3 (4:20) You know, You read the history books and you look at what the Aztecs did when they sacrificed the virgins to the gods so that they would get rain or whatever. God wouldn't be upset with them. And we look at that as being a primitive thing and a cruel thing. And how could they do something like that to these poor women? But look at what we're doing right now in the name of wokeness. It's the same thing. What we're doing is we're sacrificing. the law-abiding, tax-paying people so we can save the animals who should be in a cage. This woman didn't have to die. The system willingly sacrificed her in the name of wokeness. Speaker 1 (5:05) And the fact that he was still out and able to victimize members of this community, including an innocent 76-year-old mother and grandmother, it shouldn't happen. I would love to see some more legislative changes in regards to criminal justice reform in the state of California. Speaker 5 (5:20) Well, that's not going to happen with our current legislature and our next legislature and our probably next governor. Speaker 4 (5:28) Placer County deputies ultimately shot and killed Derrick Spencer following an hours-long shootout, but not before he shot and killed Cheryl Barron. Placer County District Attorney Morgan Geyer says, As prosecutors, our responsibility is not only to seek justice after someone is harmed, it is also to speak plainly when the system presents warning signs that cannot be ignored. What can't be overlooked are Spencer's felony arrests and releases earlier this month. Spencer is charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon likely to cause injury to a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy. Speaker 5 (6:05) So that's the first arrest that happened three weeks ago. No, two weeks ago, assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon. And he gets out on bail for that. Speaker 4 (6:21) Vandalism and resisting arrest. Although the DA argued to keep him in custody, he was released September 11th after posting bail. Then on September 14th, Folsom police arrested Spencer for burglary. Now, Speaker 5 (6:35) here's what I don't understand about our current system of justice. If you're out on bail and you get arrested for yet another crime, how exactly do we give you bail again? Speaker 3 (6:48) You're supposed to mind your P's and Q's, and if you don't, you go directly to jail and you don't get your money back. I thought that's how it's supposed to work. Speaker 5 (6:57) Apparently it's not. Just like if you violate probation, you don't go back. Just like if you violate parole, you don't go back. Speaker 4 (7:05) A judge released him on his own recognizance and on September 16. Speaker 5 (7:10) So somebody's out on bail for felony assault of a police officer. They get arrested for burglary. And they don't even have to post bail. They just get out. None of this makes any sense. Well, it's California. Speaker 4 (7:25) Sheriff's deputies arrested him for vehicle theft. Speaker 5 (7:28) So now it's been one week and he's been arrested three times and he's let out again. Speaker 5 (7:36) He was released on Speaker 4 (7:37) bail the Speaker 5 (7:37) next day. And he got bailed twice. He's on bail for the assault, and he's on bail separately for the car theft. And somehow we're allowing that. And we assume, oh, at this point, this guy's going to abide by the law until his trial? Speaker 3 (7:52) So go back to why we named our podcast the Accountability Podcast. We named it the Accountability Podcast because it's the most hollow word in the English language. Because when Gavin Newsom and company talk about dealing with criminals, they never say lock them up. They never say put them in a cell. They say we want accountability. And to them, arresting him, letting him out, arresting him, letting him out, arresting him, letting him out, that's accountability to them. Speaker 5 (8:24) Accountability is letting this guy commit crimes over and over and over again until he killed somebody. Speaker 4 (8:31) The Sacramento DA's office says, sadly, this should never have occurred, but bail reform in California has prioritized criminal offenders over victims. Sheriff Jim Cooper says, the system is helping the wrong people. A large part of this process is a shipwreck. Unfortunately, there will be another big tragedy before any real change is made. Under a recent decision from April, the county... And Speaker 3 (8:56) by the way, Speaker 4 (8:56) the Speaker 3 (8:57) sheriff of Sacramento County, Jim Cooper... came from the legislature. He served with these people. He was there as part of the Democratic Party, as part of the Democratic majority. And the moment he gets out of the legislature, the moment, and he gets elected to be sheriff of Sacramento County, he finds Jesus on the subject. Speaker 4 (9:20) Well, Speaker 5 (9:21) there's a big difference between, you know, theoretical lawmaking of this is how the world should be. When you're all of a sudden now into realistic law enforcement and you see what the consequences are of the laws that you've changed. Yeah, you find Jesus real quick. Speaker 4 (9:42) Has limited judges' ability to detain repeat offenders before trial, even if they pose a danger. Speaker 5 (9:48) Now, this is something that Brooke Jenkins has been sounding the alarm about all year long. Brooke Jenkins, the district attorney of San Francisco, warned that the California State Supreme Court, and a lot of these people are appointees by the governor, well, they have made it where it's unfair to give someone bail that they cannot afford. Even if they're a violent repeat offender, if they can't afford the bail, then you can't give them bail. So we have to give somebody who assaults Speaker 3 (10:21) a Speaker 5 (10:21) police officer bail for 50 bucks. Speaker 3 (10:24) That to them is equity. Speaker 4 (10:27) Judges must consider a defendant's ability to afford bail and set amounts they can pay. Rob Bowers is a retired... At what Speaker 5 (10:35) point do you hold somebody without even offering them bail because they