After death of baby, S.F. domestic violence victim advocates ask whether Chesa Boudin is doing enoug

[PeteS in CA]

After death of baby, S.F. domestic violence victim advocates ask whether Chesa Boudin is doing enough

https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/heatherknight/article/After-death-of-baby-S-F-domestic-violence-16125362.php

The news itself was crushing. A 7-month-old baby boy named Synciere Williams died Tuesday. The man charged with taking care of him that day, Joseph Williams, 26, was booked by police for allegedly murdering the child. And, it turned out, he’d been arrested twice recently on suspicion of felony domestic violence, in January and March, before being released without charges.

But when Kathy Black, the executive director of La Casa de las Madres, a shelter for domestic violence victims in the city, read how District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s office had explained the tragedy, she felt even more devastated. His spokesperson said the woman in the previous cases had refused to cooperate with prosecutors, so he couldn’t file charges.

“No, no, no!” Black told me, her voice rising. “Domestic violence is a crime against the state of California, and the district attorney’s job is to work with what the Police Department has gathered at the crime scene and develop the evidence to present a case. That’s his job — it’s not the victim’s job.”