Prop 57 was one of the worst propositions voters have ever approved in this state. Jerry Brown is so concerned with prison overcrowding, that he thinks it's better to let all of the violent people out instead of making more prisons.
California laws enable and embolden criminals, and the criminals know this! Under Prop 57 there are many disgusting crimes that are considered "non-violent:"
- 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
- Supplying a firearm to a gang member
- Lewd acts upon a child
- Hate crime causing physical injury
- Failing to register as a sex offender
- Arson causing great bodily injury
- Felon obtaining a firearm
- Discharging a firearm on school grounds
- False imprisonment of an elder
The crimes don't matter anymore. Now, the parole boards will look at whether or not the criminal has changed for the better during incarceration:
Jazmine Ulloa in the L.A. Times writes:
"Parole commissioners stay away from politics. Jennifer Shaffer, the board’s executive officer, says their only role is to neutrally apply the laws, which have changed the way they evaluate which offenders are too dangerous to let out. The focus is no longer so much on the severity of the crime, as on whether offenders have come to an understanding about why what they did was wrong.
One question, Shaffer said, has become central to weighing whether someone is fit for parole: 'Who are you today, and is there any evidence of current violence, current unreasonable risk to public safety?'"
What, like these people are going to tell the truth and admit they're violent? Why do we need to let these people out?!
What about the victims and their families who have to live knowing that the person who destroyed their lives is out of prison?
The whole thing is sickening, and more violence will happen because of Prop 57.