Meet Californias most dangerous judge as another maniac she freed vanishes after heinous attack on kid
A soft on crime California judge has sparked fury after a wave of violent criminals were put on the state’s mental health diversion program — with at least one now on the run.Judge Lana Kim has released dozens of offenders back onto the streets, including at least nine violent felons in the last three years.The Los Angeles Superior Court judge did this by granting diversion, a court program that lets defendants avoid a criminal conviction and jail time.The cases involved attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, alleged hate crimes and a terrifying wrong-way crash on the 405 Freeway.The pattern tracks with Kim’s own public comments about incarceration.“I don’t want to put anyone in jail,” Kim told the Daily Journal in a 2023 profile titled “Cheerleader for People”.Kim, who spent roughly 15 years as a prosecutor before taking the bench, also explained that she does not approach cases with incarceration in mind as the ideal outcome, according to the report.The latest flashpoint centers on Courtney Perrone, who was arrested in Santa Monica in August 2024 and accused of trying to kidnap an 8-year-old girl.She was put into a diversion program, and now is missing, according to a report by the LAPD.
Perrone was last seen on May 17 near the University of Southern California campus, according to LAPD.Her disappearance comes more than a year after Judge Lana Kim granted her mental health diversion in February 2025, despite prosecutors’ objections.Perrone remains scheduled for a court status conference on Feb.
19, 2027, ahead of a preliminary hearing, according to court records.The underlying allegations were alarming.Santa Monica police alleged Perrone approached an eight-year-old girl and a neighbor in an alley, claimed she was with the Russian police and tried to pull the child away.When the neighbor intervened, a struggle erupted, police alleged.Perrone then allegedly tried to pry open the neighbor’s car door and brandished a switchblade before fleeing...