◼ Proposition 47 - Criminal Sentences. Misdemeanor Penalties. - Legislative Analyst's Office
◼ California Proposition 47, Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiative - Ballotpedia
◼ Proposition 47 would lower penalties to reduce prison population, pay for programs - Sam Stanton/Sacramento Bee
Over the years, California voters have been asked to decide a number of criminal justice issues, ranging from whether to keep the death penalty to modifying the state’s “three-strikes” law. Now, voters are now being given the chance to alter punishments for nonviolent crimes in a move that proponents say ultimately will reduce crime statewide.
Proposition 47 asks voters to approve reducing from felonies to misdemeanors punishments for a variety of property crimes that supporters of the measure say will reduce overcrowding in California’s 34 adult prisons. The measure is the latest in a series of attempts by penal reform groups and state officials to cut California’s prison costs by reducing inmate populations.... KEEP READING
Arguments againstWHO’S FOR IT? ▪ San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón
▪ Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos
▪ Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen
▪ William Lansdowne, former chief of police for San Diego, San Jose and Richmond
▪ Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice
▪ California Catholic Conference
▪ State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg
▪ California Democratic Party
▪ League of Women Voters of California
▪ California Teachers Association
▪ California Labor Federation
◼ YES ON 47 claims it is for SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS and SCHOOLS: It's a simple and common-sense idea, but a powerful one. This reform will improve public safety, reduce prison spending and invest hundreds of millions in K-12 schools, victim services, and mental health and drug treatment.
◼ San Francisco Chronicle says Yes. Claims: Savings from the initiative, projected at $150 million to $250 million per year, would be channeled into a safe neighborhoods and schools fund for anticrime programs, including mental health treatment, truancy and dropout prevention and victim compensation.
WHO’S AGAINST IT? ▪ California District Attorneys Association
▪ California Police Chiefs Association
▪ California State Sheriffs’ Association
▪ California Peace Officers Association
▪ California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
▪ Crime Victims United of California
▪ California Fraternal Order of Police
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (D), said Proposition 47, called the "Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act" by supporters, "will do anything but make our communities safer." She elaborated:
“Prop. 47 would do two things. First, it would reclassify a wide range of crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor. This would mean shorter prison sentences for serious crimes like stealing firearms, identity theft and possessing dangerous narcotics such as cocaine and date rape drugs.
Second, Prop. 47 would result in the resentencing and release of thousands of individuals already convicted of these crimes.
The crimes that would be reclassified from a felony to a misdemeanor are not minor crimes.
For instance, the penalty for stealing a firearm valued at up to $950 would be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, reducing a sentence from up to three years in prison today to a maximum of just 12 months under Prop. 47.
Stolen firearms often end up in the hands of felons and others who cannot legally possess them, where they are used to commit violent crimes. Theft of a firearm should be punished as a felony, plain and simple...
The problem is the definition of “unreasonable risk of danger to public safety” is extraordinarily narrow. It covers only those who are at risk of committing eight specific crimes: three specific sex offenses, murder or solicitation to commit murder, assault with a machine gun on a peace officer or firefighter, possession of a weapon of mass destruction or an offense punishable by life in prison or death.
This means an individual at risk of committing serious crimes other than the eight listed above, such as carjacking or robbery, would automatically qualify for resentencing if he is serving time for a crime covered by Prop. 47...
By the time a person has been convicted of a felony covered by the proposition, he has most likely been through the judicial system several times.
Simply put, the reduction in sentences proposed by Proposition 47 would ultimately lead to the release of thousands of dangerous criminals, and a wholesale reclassification of many dangerous felonies as misdemeanors would put the people of California at continued risk going forward.”
—U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein
Other arguments against the propositions include:
The National Association of Drug Court Professionals, a group opposing Proposition 47, said, "Proposition 47 provides for virtually no accountability, supervision or treatment for addicted offenders. Prop 47 removes the legal incentive for seriously addicted offenders to seek treatment... Proposition 47 turns a blind eye to over two decades of research and practice that demonstrates addicted offenders need structure and accountability in addition to treatment to become sober..."
◼ CFRW recommends a "NO" Vote
◼ The California Republican Party recommends a "NO" Vote
◼ Tom McCLintock recommends a "NO" Vote
We’ve gone overboard on some drug-related offenses, but this Proposition can only be described as a drug-induced hallucination. It reduces many grand-theft crimes to misdemeanors and would release an estimated 10,000 incarcerated criminals back on the streets. Basically, it is a burglar’s get-out-of-jail free card. Good news for alarm companies and the handful of 60’s radicals nostalgic for Rose Bird – bad news for the rest of us. Hide the silver.
