In what land would the cold-bloodied butcher of five people who use his victims’ blood to leave a message on their walls not face opposition to parole from a district attorney even though he was originally sentenced to die?

La-La Land, of course.

Los Angeles in November elected former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon — a robotic advocate of restorative justice — as their head prosecutor.

Gascon has issued blanket stay-out-of-jail cards “unless there are factors for consideration” — whatever that means — for misdemeanors such as driving without a license, driving with a suspended license, resisting arrest, loitering to commit prostitution, trespassing, disturbing the peace, drug and drug paraphernalia possession, public intoxication, making criminal threats, and trespassing among others.

On a lot of levels that makes sense. But then again it also doesn’t make sense on a number of levels.

People often have their license suspended for a lot of serious reasons such as driving under the influence and reckless driving. A judge – not law enforcement – has determined they are a threat to society. That means they committed a serious infraction while having their hands on the steering wheel in terms of the most deadly weapon and killer of innocent people on California’s streets – a 4,000-pound vehicle.

As for not prosecuting criminal threats, perhaps Gascon should research the checkered history of domestic violence victims who can rarely get any protection – or justice – from the system until such time the individual threatening them starts racking up convictions.

If Gascon has data that says rarely do those that make criminal threats to kill or harm their victims or that the system of which his office is a part of actually gives much heed to domestic violence victims until those that threatened them compile a number of convictions even if it is for threatening their lives he should share it.

In fairness to Gascon the criminal justice system needs a lot of work.

To make real change that benefits society and not just the perpetrators there needs to be a system in place that indeed works to solve core issues. But at the same time that system needs to see and address clear threats that can’t be stopped by the art — it’s not a science — which the politically correct crowd refers to as restorative justice.

Again, one can make a solid argument that prosecutors such as San Joaquin County District Attorney Toni Verber Salazar may be on the right path.

But if they want to make meaningful headway they need to act like adults and make the hard decisions to draw the line instead of treating every incarceration of being ineffective or socially unjust.

Nowhere does Gascon and other restorative justice lemmings cross the line as much as they do when they openly proclaim they will never oppose parole of someone sentenced to life that has served their mandatory minimum period of incarceration.

This means Gascon will not oppose the parole of Tex Watson.

Watson, acting as a disciple of Charlie Manson, was convicted for the Aug. 9-10, 1969 murders of seven people at two different locations.

He was sentenced to die in 1971. Two years later the state Supreme Court invalidated all death penalty convictions prior to 1972. Watson and terms of other death row inmates at the time whose murders were so gruesome, in multiples, or murdered again after being released from prison were converted to life.

Watson has been eligible for parole 17 times since then. His parole has been opposed each time by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. He is eligible for a parole hearing in October of this year.

District attorneys like Gascon like to brag they are the top law enforcement officer in their respective counties. Welding the power to prosecute or not to prosecute, they have a considerable amount of power to influence the lives of those that commit criminal acts and the safety of the community they were elected to serve.

One would hope that Gascon would be as judicious with his office about how it uses its power to protect the community as to look for restorative justice options.

His carte blanche edict on parole hearings proves his motives are not judicious and treats people as individuals but done in subservience to a politically correct idea such as restorative justice.

It should be clear Tex Watson should never be allowed to step out of a prison. The death penalty in his case was not a miscarriage of justice. The fact he is eligible for parole and Gascon will make no attempt to oppose it is.

As for “lifer parole hearings” let’s look at those involving first degree murderers.

To earn a first degree murder conviction in California you must show “malice afterthought.” This requires one of two things. Express malice meaning the convicted killer deliberately intended to commit murder. Implied malice meaning that the defendant acted without regard for another person’s safety or behaved with extreme recklessness.

These include murders involving weapons of mass destruction, firearms shot from a moving vehicle, bombs or explosives, armor-piercing ammunition, and poison. State law dictates first degree murder charges for killings that occurred after a defendant’s lying in wait or torturing their victim.

The DA also has the option of going for first degree murder charges when a killing occurs while committing felonies such as burglary, robbery, rape, and kidnapping.

Most first degree murderers in California end up with sentences of 25 years to life.

Assuming they resist the urge to kill again in prison that means in Gascon’s world of restorative justice a first degree murder is worth only 25 years.

Given his leanings it is highly unlikely you will see his office pursue very many life-without-parole sentences. And the odds of him ever going for the death penalty is probably the same odds of Donald Trump forgoing Mar-a-Lago, moving to Portland in Oregon, running for mayor, and getting elected in a landslide.

Restorative justice needs to include the victims.

In almost every other crime you can probably find a way to better balance the scales of justice.

But with first degree murder adopting the blanket assertion the DA’s job ends at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing places such a low value on human life and the vicious as well as wanton disregard for how it is taken, there is no justice.

Instead most first degree murderers in La-La Land will simply being punching 25 year tickets If they’re caught  and providing Gascon decides to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law and if they are then convicted.

 This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com