Father of boy killed in San Francisco: There needs to be accountability all around
Father of Jace Young, Jason Young, speaks out against leadership in San Francisco after the murder of his 6-year-old son.
The father of slain 6-year-old Jace Young applauded the ousting of District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Thursday, telling Fox News that the lack of accountability from Boudin's office during his tenure perpetuated a cycle of violence in the city that emboldened criminals and contributed to the soaring crime rate.
"I blame him for the handling of the case, the stance that he took in regard to sentencing and the things that he could’ve done, as someone who actually voted for him and just as a citizen of San Francisco and more importantly, as a parent," Jason Young said on "Fox & Friends First."
Young was an outspoken proponent of the campaign for Boudin's recall, accusing him of eliminating accountability for criminals, like the one responsible for shooting and killing his son in July 2020.
Young said that Boudin, who was elected in 2019 with 50.8% of the vote, sought the position to work on "a lot of his own personal issues."
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San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin ponders a reporter's question at his recall campaign headquarters in San Francisco on May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg | AP Photo/Haven Daley)
"Instead of being a district attorney, he was a public defender for the criminals here in San Francisco," he said.
Homicides in San Francisco were up 150% year-over-year in April, while total shootings increased 138%, according to city data. Firearm seizures were also down 5% in the same timeframe.
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Young attributed the rise in crime to Democrats' soft-on-crime policies, which he believes tend to "trigger situations where you continue to perpetuate a cycle of violence because there is no actual accountability from the D.A.'s office."
"What we have is a lot of people with a lot of untreated trauma because of the lack of accountability in some of these district attorneys' offices," he said.
Chesa Boudin during an appearance on the SF City Insider podcast at the San Francisco Chronicle in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, August 28, 2019. (Yalonda M. James/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
But even with Boudin gone, Young believes the city has a long way to go as far as accountability is concerned.
"I think it goes a little beyond the district attorneys," he said. "They definitely do play a part because they are a voice for the victims of the crime."
But, Young continued, "I would say that everybody plays a part. It starts at home. We have to be a little more cognizant of what's going on with the individuals that are in our cities, not just when things are happening on a local level, on a state and even on a national level, but there has to be accountability all across the board, whether it’s the police department, whether it’s the D.A.'s office, whether it’s the schools, probation, the parents…everybody plays a part."
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Bullets struck 6-year-old Jace on July 4, 2020, as he gathered with his neighbors to watch the fireworks show in San Francisco's Bayview District. He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
The elder Young described his son as "brilliant, pure, [and] just something very special" who was "destined for greatness.
"That's why I get up every day and I fight," he said. "I continue to be his voice and tell his story."
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