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Orange County’s top prosecutor is sounding the alarm for law-abiding Californians after warning that a dozen criminal defendants deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial could be released back onto our streets because the state has no beds to house them. These are not garden-variety misdemeanors; the list includes suspects accused of murder, assault and sexual offenses, and the county warns that without secure placements their custody end dates will force releases.
District Attorney Todd Spitzer pleaded with county and state officials to stop treating public safety like an abstract policy debate and to find real, secure treatment facilities before it’s too late. He named specific cases, including a murder suspect who could be discharged if a suitable placement isn’t located, and called on the Board of Supervisors to hold a special hearing to prevent what he called an avoidable danger to the community.
Instead of solving the problem, Sacramento’s political class has spent years preaching compassion while starving the secure institutions that keep violent, seriously mentally ill offenders from harming others. Spitzer explicitly blamed Governor Gavin Newsom and state leaders for failing to provide the needed mental health beds and warned this policy vacuum has become “the most dangerous get out of jail free card yet.” That accusation should make every parent and small-business owner sit up straight.
Unsurprisingly, Newsom’s office fired back, pointing to billions sent to counties and even $31 million from voter-approved Proposition 1 as proof the state has tried to help — but sending money without building secure capacity is window dressing when lives are on the line. Local officials say there are a handful of contracted beds and long waiting lists, but spinning budget numbers doesn’t change the hard fact: people found incompetent by courts are on track for release unless beds are found.
This is the predictable result when liberal policymakers prioritize optics and soft-touch solutions over robust public safety infrastructure. Californians deserve both compassion for the mentally ill and protection from violent recidivists, but you cannot have one without the other unless you build real, secure treatment capacity — not another grant program that vanishes into bureaucratic limbo. The state and county should be held accountable for this gap before another family pays the price.
Victims’ families are rightly furious and terrified, and their voices must guide the response more than the talking points of Sacramento spin doctors. While the county reports it has placed dozens into appropriate settings in recent weeks, the fix is temporary unless Sacramento stops passing the buck and Congress-style virtue-signaling and starts building the beds and facilities that actually keep dangerous people locked into treatment, not loose on our streets.
Conservatives should rally behind prosecutors demanding action, not against them; Todd Spitzer is doing the hard job of naming the enemy — policy failure in Sacramento — and calling for emergency measures to protect citizens. Voters need to remember this at the ballot box and demand commonsense reforms: prioritize secure treatment beds, enforce accountability for state and local leaders, and stop letting ideology endanger everyday Americans.
