With the swearing in of George Gascón as district attorney, Los Angeles became the latest jurisdiction to embrace sweeping criminal justice reforms so desperately needed here in Santa Clara County.

Gascón made immediate policy changes, following the lead of other progressive prosecutors such as San Francisco’s Chesa Boudin. In L.A., children will no longer be prosecuted as adults. People will not suffer disproportionate sentences pursuant to Three Strikes laws. Angelenos will not be subjected to racist gang prosecutions. Families will not lose loved ones to the death penalty. People languishing in prison will have chances at parole or resentencing. Crime victims will get services whether or not they cooperate with the prosecution. A community-based process will help decide whether to prosecute police who kill.

This transformation didn’t start with Gascon’s inauguration. This summer, thousands took to L.A. streets after the police killing of George Floyd to demand major reforms. Millions of Angelenos voted in November for local measures aimed at diversion programs rather than punishment. They shot down Proposition 20, which would have sent more people to prison. And they ousted the incumbent District Attorney Jackie Lacey.

In Santa Clara County, we, too, protested and said Black Lives Matter in the wake of George Floyd’s death. We, too, rejected Proposition 20. Last month our county supervisors, at the urging of families impacted by incarceration, stopped the construction of a new jail and instead chose to explore non-jail solutions to trauma, mental illness, substance abuse and poverty.

But also here in Silicon Valley, outdated policies that perpetuate systemic racism and mass incarceration remain in place. Latinx people are just 26% of the county population yet are 52% of those prosecuted for felony offenses. According to a DA report, “the racial composition of charged minors in Santa Clara County juvenile court show a clear over-representation of Latino youth.” Our prosecutor’s office charges gang enhancements that disparately target the Latinx community. As of 2017, 69% of people charged with gang enhancements were Latinx.

San Jose police officers killed 19 people in the last 5 years; the Santa Clara County District Attorney did not prosecute a single one. Our prosecutors still try and punish kids, mostly Black and Brown boys, as adults. They pursue lengthy prison commitments pursuant to Three Strikes laws. They seek inhumane life without the possibility of parole sentences that amount to death by incarceration. Until recently, our DA’s office sought the death penalty. They stubbornly oppose reforms that move toward decarceration, including laws ending the felony murder rule and prohibiting the prosecution of 14- and 15-year-old kids as adults.

These practices are out of step with an electorate that has demonstrated a commitment to system reimagination. About 75% of Santa Clara County residents voted in 2012 to stop sending people to prison for life for low-level third strikes. We voted by wide margins in 2016 to repeal the death penalty and strip prosecutors of the unfettered authority to charge kids as adults. This year more than 60% voted to restore the voting rights of parolees and to reject the pro-prison mission of Prop 20.

The long-awaited reforms ushered in by true progressive prosecutors such as Gascon and Boudin represent a seismic shift in how justice is delivered. But why should only those living in L.A. and San Francisco benefit from changes we all deserve?

The people of Santa Clara County, including the organizations who join this letter — Silicon Valley De-Bug, South Bay Progressive Alliance (SBPA), Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) at Sacred Heart, San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP, HERO Tent, San Jose Strong, Human Agenda — demand the same transformation.

Sajid A. Khan is a San Jose public defense lawyer. Melissa Valdez is a Silicon Valley De-Bug organizer. Yoel Y. Haile is a criminal justice program manager for the ACLU of Northern California.