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Proposition 57: Jerry Brown's Early Release 

7/7/2016

7 Comments

 



For Violent Criminals
By Jon Fleischman






Just a week ago, California Attorney General Kamala Harris released an alarming  report detailing how violent crime in California is on the rise, increasing 10% over the last year.


Violent crimes were up last year by about 15,000 to a high of 166,588. Homicides went up 9.7 percent, robberies 8.5 percent, aggravated assaults 8 percent. Rapes increased 36 percent!


It is in this environment that Governor Jerry Brown has placed before voters this November a ballot measure deceptively titled the "Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016"  - when it might be more accurately dubbed the "Let Violent Criminals Out Of Prison Early Act of 2016."


The measure, now officially Proposition 57, purports to allow for early release only of those inmates who have committed "non-violent offenses," but is written in a way that even a spokesperson for the initiative says will only prevent early release for those who committed 23 specific violent crimes.


Here are just some of the supposedly "non-violent crimes" for which early release would be possible if this measure is passed: rape by intoxication, rape of an unconscious person, human trafficking involving sex act with minors, drive-by shooting, assault with a deadly weapon, taking a hostage, domestic violence involving trauma, possession of a bomb or weapon of mass destruction, hate crime causing physical injury, arson causing great bodily injury, discharging a firearm on school grounds, corporal injury to a child, and false imprisonment of an elderly person. The list actually goes on and on.


In addition to significantly reducing the time a vast number of violent criminals would have to serve before being eligible for parole, the Governor's measure actually allows bureaucrats at the Department of Corrections to give "time off for good behavior" to literally any inmate in state prison, including those convicted of the most heinous criminal acts, including first-degree murder.


I suppose another equally valid ballot title for the measure could be the "California Crime Victim Re-victimization Act," because the measure was purposely drafted to allow every prisoner currently serving time for the violent crimes listed above (and more) to be eligible for early release based on the new guidelines. Which means that all of the victims of these terrible acts, who had some degree of certainty as to the disposition of their attackers, would all have to wonder if suddenly their attackers would be back on the streets - much sooner than they had been promised by the criminal justice system.


Brown's measure, in one broadly written provision, would overturn a number of previous tough-on-crime measures passed by California voters, including key provisions of Marsy's Law; 3-Strikes-And-You're-Out - the Victims' Bill of Rights; the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act; and the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act.


Brown has so far spent over $5 million from a ballot measure advocacy committee he controls to put Prop 57 before the voters, and he still has over $20 million in that fund. He argues that these "reforms" are needed to address prison overcrowding, and also says that he very much regrets his support in 1977, as governor, for establishing determinative sentencing laws in California. These have led to the establishment of strict sentencing guidelines, mandatory minimum sentences, and enhanced sentences for certain crimes.


Brown also feels strongly that the current system provides no incentive for inmates to be exemplary while behind bars, and feels that with the carrot of reducing sentences that prison authorities can cause inmate behavior to change in a positive way, reducing recidivism.


A robust conversation about criminal justice reform is a good thing, and clearly some reforms are worthwhile to discuss, and even implement. However, in the case of this particularly dreadful ballot measure, its basic premise is a lie. Governor Brown wants to soften sentences and allow for early release of violent criminals - while trying to tell voters with a straight face that that is not what this measure actually does.


A final and disturbing fact: Attorney General (and United States Senate candidate) Kamala Harris is charged with writing an accurate title and summary for each ballot measure. As the state's top prosecutor, Harris knows full well what this measure does, but still placed before voters the sentence, "Allows parole consideration for persons convicted of nonviolent felonies...".


The question is whether general election voters, inundated with campaign messaging from not only a presidential election but from a boatload of other ballot measures, will understand this measure for what it actually is. Because if they just go by the ballot title and summary in front of them by Kamala Harris, thousands of very dangerous people will be back on the streets very, very soon.

​
7 Comments
Darlene Freeman
7/12/2016 11:57:42 am

I will be voting for this bill because my son took a plea for something he did not do which was a domestic violence crime because he would get one 25 years to life. He had turned himself in thinking he and his daughter would get help and counseling. The assistant to the DA said that if he did not take the plea bargain for the 25 yrs that she would stack what he did do and make the sentence 40 years to life. The person analyzing his case for suggestion of probation said he would normally be let out with an ankle bracelet and continue working with a restraining order not to go near that person (who has moved 1500 miles away whom he would never see again). He said he did not know why anyone who was put in jail or prison would ever commit a crime again to get locked back up, because the conditions in prison compared to life on the outside was so bad that he would never commit the crime he did ever again. This was a first time offense for anything, and he stopped the domestic violence to this person 2 years before he turned himself in....he just felt guilty and wanted counseling for him and his daughter. She even said at sentencing that she was sorry he was going to be locked up, because he was not going to be able to support the family of 5, they were going to have to move to a state where the cost of living was cheaper, leaving friends and family. It tore the family completely apart, not because of what he did, but because he was sent to prison and one of his sons could not visit due to being a minor. All of his sons have stood by him, and said he should not have been sent to prison, but given an ankle bracelet and community service, and keep working running the corporation to keep many other families also working. Not all cases are like his, and I hope that each case will be considered by the actual facts and recommendations at time of sentencing. People can change, and being able to learn to make good choices and get credit for trying to change will help people in prison to turn their lives around. My son has tutored several men in prison to get their GEDs and help them to turn their thinking around to live a life without crime so they can be out with their family. I hope this will pass, and that the parole boards will take each case into consideration separately, as each case is different.

Reply
Elise Brown
8/7/2016 10:58:28 pm

My son was sent to prison on a hate Lie. There isn't anyone that seems to listen. He was an asset to the community. This country has turned to down right shameful about how they treat people, and the time the judges give people because of their hate, and they do, they are a source of this country too. I will vote for letting these men out. I pray that my son comes home. Thank you

Reply
Elise Brown
8/7/2016 11:01:52 pm

My son was sent to prison on a hate Lie. There isn't anyone that seems to listen. He was an asset to the community. This country has turned to down right shameful about how they treat people, and the time the judges give people because of their hate, and they do, they are a source of this country too. I will vote for letting these men out. I pray that my son comes home. Thank you

I have not posted a comment on this subject before, or to Governor Brown about this Prop 57.

Reply
Elise Brown
8/7/2016 11:03:02 pm

My son was sent to prison on a hate Lie. There isn't anyone that seems to listen. He was an asset to the community. This country has turned to down right shameful about how they treat people, and the time the judges give people because of their hate, and they do, they are a source of this country too. I will vote for letting these men out. I pray that my son comes home. Thank you

I have not posted a comment on this subject before, or to Governor Brown about this Prop 57. Please tell me the error.

Reply
Elise Brown
8/7/2016 11:05:54 pm

My son was sent to prison on a hate Lie. There isn't anyone that seems to listen. He was an asset to the community. This country has turned down right shameful about how they treat people, and the time the judges give people because of their hate, and they do, they are a source of this country too. I will vote for letting these men out. I pray that my son comes home. Thank you

I have not posted a comment on this subject before, or to Governor Brown about this Prop 57. Please tell me the error. Am I writing to little or being too truthful?

Reply
Elise Brown
8/7/2016 11:10:02 pm

My son was sent to prison on a hate Lie. There isn't anyone that seems to listen. He was an asset to the community. This country has turned down right shameful about how they treat people, and the time the judges give people because of their hate, and they do, they are a source of this country too. I will vote for letting these men out. I pray that my son comes home. Thank you

I have not posted a comment on this subject before, or to Governor Brown about this Prop 57. Please tell me the error. Am I writing to little or being too truthful?
This is just my e-mail I have nothing else, and I do not know where the error is.

Reply
Elise Brown
8/7/2016 11:13:44 pm

My son was sent to prison on a hate Lie. There isn't anyone that seems to listen. He was an asset to the community. This country has turned down right shameful about how they treat people, and the time the judges give people because of their hate, and they do, they are a source of this country too. I will vote for letting these men out. I pray that my son comes home. Thank you

I have not posted a comment on this subject before, or to Governor Brown about this Prop 57. Please tell me the error. Am I writing to little or being too truthful?
This is just my e-mail I have nothing else, and I do not know where the error is. I will try again when I find out the error of my submitting my comment.

Reply



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