The other day we went through a piece from the San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board called "Proposition 57 a debacle for Jerry Brown because of potential early parole for sex offenders." The piece was written after a judge's decision that sex offenders must be considered for early parole under the proposition.
The editorial board admitted that while they have advocated for criminal justice reform many times, they couldn't bring themselves to endorse Prop 57 due to its deep and dangerous flaws. You can click here to read that piece.
Governor Brown read the article and was not happy at all with what the paper had to say. Here's what he shot back to the SDUT editorial board:
"For an editorial board that claims to have “advocated for criminal justice reform more often than any other editorial board in California,” it was rather shocking to see the Union-Tribune revert to the shameless fear-mongering that spawned decades of mass incarceration.
Instead of offering an honest assessment of Proposition 57, the editorial board rehashes the same shoddy arguments it peddled for the 2016 election, this time citing a lower court’s decision, which I believe is clearly wrong. Voters soundly rejected these claims when they passed Proposition 57 by a nearly two-to-one margin.
The bigger point is this: Proposition 57 vests broad discretion in the secretary of corrections and the Parole Board to protect our community and fashion a rational system of punishment and rehabilitation. This is a job for dedicated and experienced professionals, not cynical politicians. Yes, we can make our system better, and we will."
Edmund G. Brown Jr.
Governor of California
Read more at the San Diego Union-Tribune
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