Pubdate: Thu, 06 Nov 2014
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2014 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376

PROP. 47 VICTORY IS REPUDIATION OF LOCK-'EM-UP POLICIES

The victory of Proposition 47 in California on Tuesday is another 
example of the public's waning support of 20th century tough-on-crime 
policies that stuffed state prisons to unhealthy levels.

We sure hope the public knows what it is doing, because the 
provisions of the measure began Wednesday.

That means, from now on, people convicted of drug possession and 
petty property crime will not face jail time. It is supposed to save 
the state hundreds of millions each year by diverting low-level 
felons into addiction and mental health programs  some of which 
exist, others just imagined.

Also, the measure applies retroactively to potentially thousands of 
people already convicted; it's impossible to say exactly how many, as 
the measure doesn't apply to people who have past records that 
include murder or sex crimes.

It does, however, apply to prior offenders of all manner of other 
serious and violent convictions  armed robbery, carjacking, 
residential burglary and assault with a deadly weapon, the latter of 
which may have been homicide but for lack of a clear shot.

Of all six measures on the statewide ballot, this one has the most 
potential for dangerous unintended consequences.

Proposition 47 passed with 58.5 percent of the vote, a significantly 
lower margin of victory than the other two winning state measures 
Propositions 1 and 2. It may have to do with the fact that it was 
listed much lower on the ballot, and voters skipped it.

More likely, it reflects the public's growing ambivalence with 
policies that have resulted in a correctional system that costs 
taxpayers $10 billion a year, yet hasn't appreciably reduced 
recidivism rates, and a sense by those on both sides of the political 
aisle that our criminal justice system is broken.

This measure followed closely on the heels of two other criminal 
justice reform policies: Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment in 2011 and 
Proposition 36, a 2012 ballot measure that revised California's 
"three-strikes" law so that the third strike had to be a violent or 
serious felony.

Too closely, for some. Much of the opposition to the measure came 
from the state's sheriffs, police chiefs, district attorneys, 
probation officers - you know, the experts who handle criminals on 
our behalf. They said they are still grappling with the changes that 
came with realignment and expect this to complicate their efforts to comply.

There are other concerns with Proposition 47, specifically how it 
reclassifies gun theft and possession of date-rape drugs like 
rohypnol as misdemeanors. Prosecutors argue convincingly that the 
initiative will give them less flexibility in prosecuting creeps who 
intend to use roofies.

Gov. Brown, who kept as quiet on this measure as most other things on 
the ballot, might well find it is raining on his realignment parade.

Ultimately, the desire to reform the state's criminal justice system 
is a healthy sign of a maturing society recognizing that true 
rehabilitation is a more humane way to fight crime than locking 
people up and throwing away the key.

We just hope the pendulum doesn't swing too far the other way.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom