Forums → WEPR → California Proposition 47, Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiative
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What's your opinion on the proposition? Here it is if you haven't heard of it. In short it allows certain felonies to be classified as misdemeanors, reducing the time the criminals are imprisoned (as well as holding them in jails rather than prisons, which also reduces the severity of their punishment regardless of time). The primary argument in favor of the proposition is that less prison space will be wasted on those felonies that are not as severe as others.
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WRITING A BAD CHECK OVER ~1000 DOLLARS IS A FELONY IN CALIFORNIA!?
My god...Anyway, yeah, these charges are pretty small for being felonies. Labeling them as misdemeanors would be a positive move. Moving drug use from felony to misdemeanor is especially positive--they could probably benefit more from actually taking them to rehabilitation centers instead of jails, though. The only thing I'm iffy on is having shoplifting and grand larceny being the same scale of value.
WRITING A BAD CHECK OVER ~1000 DOLLARS IS A FELONY IN CALIFORNIA!?
If you write a bad check for that much you probably know it's going to be bad when you write it. Any type of theft that exceeds $1000 runs the risk of being a felony in the U.S. California is apparently more strict, having these felonies as low as $950, but none of that is particularly surprising or unusual.
I am overwhelmingly in support of this measure. I think the pendulum has swung way too far in the direction of harsh punishments and the more it swings backwards the better. I just attended a presentation about the California prison system. In california, the prison population increased dramatically since the 1980s, and laws kept getting tougher and tougher, and the recidivism rate (prisoners who re-offend and end up back in prison) is generally at least 3/4. This does not constitute "rehabilitation." It costs about 40k per year to keep a prisoner in California. The prisons were so overcrowded--despite about 20 extra prisons being built--that the supreme court ruled it was unconstitutional. Furthermore, the criminal justice system is discriminatory towards minorities, so these harsher penalties are unfairly applied to low SES and minorities. Not to mention the whole 3 strikes fiasco. That has been an abomination. There was a dude who literally got sentenced to life in prison for stealing a slice of pizza.
blk2860: If you had a metric ton of cocaine you would be charged with a distribution related offense, not "ossession" for personal use. The reason those personal use possession charges should be misdeanors (or decriminalized completely) is that it allows for non violent drug addicts to receive treatment and hopefully get better and cost taxpayers less money and contribute to society, instead of becoming hardened criminals being locked up in a prison (where we already know the recidivism rate). Also if you steal a gun, it is not just shoplifting, you are also in possession of an illegal firearm, which carries its own consequences, especially if you use it in any way or are a felon.
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