California DA stresses need for lesser sentences for criminals as Asian American community demands punishment for toddler Joseph Wu's killers

In response to members of the Asian community in California's requests for more information regarding the trial of three gang members involved in the shooting death of 23-month-old Jasper Wu, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price revealed that her office was working to pursue "non-carceral" forms of punishment.

Price's statements garnered outrage from Wu's parents and other members of the community, many of whom slammed her for appearing to view those impacted by such cases as less of a victim than the perpetrators.



Wu was killed by a stray bullet fired during a "rolling gun battle" between gangs while he and his family innocently drove down Highway 880 in 2021, and the preliminary hearing for murder suspects Trevor Green, Johnny Jackson, and Ivory Bivens is scheduled to begin at the end of April. On Tuesday, a concerned member of the Asian community wrote to Price asking for an update in the case. 

According to ABC7, she responded by saying her office was "currently working on a partnership with the Asian Law Caucus to support AAPI victims of violence in ways that open up broader possibilities for healing and non-carceral forms of accountability."

While the Asian Law Caucus denied knowledge of the email, it has repeatedly highlighted its efforts to "diminish societal reliance on carceral systems – police, jails, prisons, ICE detention, surveillance, and supervision – in ways that will strengthen the low-income and immigrant AAPI communities we serve," seeking instead to create "preventative, restorative, and community-based alternatives to our punitive criminal legal system."

The news didn't come out of the blue, however. As ABC7 reported earlier this month, Wu's family was made aware of potential new guidelines that would allow for shorter sentences for murderers, including Jasper's killers.

"There are almost no consequences due to no threat of severe punishments waiting," a spokesperson for the Wu family said. "How would that restore the public's faith in the justice system? How would the public feel safe?"

Price's statement was slammed by former Alameda County prosecutor Norbert Chu, who called it "insulting," and suggested that it appeared to tell the Asian community that "somehow we're lesser victims, than other people."