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| California ballot initiatives: death penalty upheld, three strikes softened | California ballot initiatives: death penalty upheld, three strikes softened |
| (4 months later) | |
| California's active ballot initiative set contained measures dealing with two of the most controversial pieces of the state's criminal justice policy: the death penalty and "three strikes", which mandates a life sentence for offenders convicted for a third time. Here is how the measures fared on Tuesday: | California's active ballot initiative set contained measures dealing with two of the most controversial pieces of the state's criminal justice policy: the death penalty and "three strikes", which mandates a life sentence for offenders convicted for a third time. Here is how the measures fared on Tuesday: |
| Death penalty | Death penalty |
| Measure: Proposition 34 would repeal the death penalty and replace it with life without parole. Result: No, 53% to 47% How we called it: Indecisive – could have repealed or the death penalty could have been kept, by 10% in either case. | Measure: Proposition 34 would repeal the death penalty and replace it with life without parole. Result: No, 53% to 47% How we called it: Indecisive – could have repealed or the death penalty could have been kept, by 10% in either case. |
| Ken MacDonald and Gill Garcetti argued argued in the Guardian that California's death row had cost taxpayers nearly $1bn since 2006 without yielding a single execution. A vote for the measure would have removed the drain on taxpayers and directed more money to other areas of the criminal justice system: | Ken MacDonald and Gill Garcetti argued argued in the Guardian that California's death row had cost taxpayers nearly $1bn since 2006 without yielding a single execution. A vote for the measure would have removed the drain on taxpayers and directed more money to other areas of the criminal justice system: |
| "Proposition 34 directs $100m in savings to law enforcement to solve more murders, 46% of which statewide go unsolved (the numbers are even worse for reported rapes, which will also be targeted with the saved funds). Under today's shrinking budgets, investigative units could not be farther from the crime labs we've all see on TV. In Los Angeles, police typically must wait six to eight weeks for fingerprints from violent crimes." | "Proposition 34 directs $100m in savings to law enforcement to solve more murders, 46% of which statewide go unsolved (the numbers are even worse for reported rapes, which will also be targeted with the saved funds). Under today's shrinking budgets, investigative units could not be farther from the crime labs we've all see on TV. In Los Angeles, police typically must wait six to eight weeks for fingerprints from violent crimes." |
| Coupled with the lack of accountability in not carrying out executions – "A sentence not carried out is little more than an idle threat" – another worry is the number of wrongfuly convicted inmates on death row: | Coupled with the lack of accountability in not carrying out executions – "A sentence not carried out is little more than an idle threat" – another worry is the number of wrongfuly convicted inmates on death row: |
| "You can't hurry justice without making grave mistakes. Nationwide, 141 people have been freed from death row. That is gratifying and horrifying at the same time: were other innocent people less fortunate? We'll never know. Even prosecutors who apply the highest possible standards know that a fatal – and irreversible – mistake is always possible with the death penalty." | "You can't hurry justice without making grave mistakes. Nationwide, 141 people have been freed from death row. That is gratifying and horrifying at the same time: were other innocent people less fortunate? We'll never know. Even prosecutors who apply the highest possible standards know that a fatal – and irreversible – mistake is always possible with the death penalty." |
| Three strikes law | Three strikes law |
| Measure: Proposition 36 would revise the three-strikes law to only impose life sentences on new felony convictions that are "serious or violent" Result: Yes, 68% to 32% How we called it: Yes, winning by 20% to 40%. | Measure: Proposition 36 would revise the three-strikes law to only impose life sentences on new felony convictions that are "serious or violent" Result: Yes, 68% to 32% How we called it: Yes, winning by 20% to 40%. |
| The Guardian's Sadhbh Walshe has written extensively on the injustice of the three-strikes law, particularly on the severe sentences offenders are serving for minor crimes: | The Guardian's Sadhbh Walshe has written extensively on the injustice of the three-strikes law, particularly on the severe sentences offenders are serving for minor crimes: |
| "The maximum sentence for rape (that does not include kidnapping) in California is eight years; the average sentence is five. The sentence for second-degree murder is 15 to life. But a man or woman convicted three times of snatching a purse, or three times of stealing a shovel from a garden shed, will be sentenced to life in prison." | "The maximum sentence for rape (that does not include kidnapping) in California is eight years; the average sentence is five. The sentence for second-degree murder is 15 to life. But a man or woman convicted three times of snatching a purse, or three times of stealing a shovel from a garden shed, will be sentenced to life in prison." |
| "I wish I could say I was exaggerating here for the sake of emphasis, but when it comes to California's three strikes law, there are so many low-level offenders – well over 3,000 – mostly struggling with drug addiction or mental illness, who have had their lives obliterated by this misguided piece of legislation, no such exaggeration is required." | "I wish I could say I was exaggerating here for the sake of emphasis, but when it comes to California's three strikes law, there are so many low-level offenders – well over 3,000 – mostly struggling with drug addiction or mental illness, who have had their lives obliterated by this misguided piece of legislation, no such exaggeration is required." |
| With the measure passed, cases like that of Jeremy Stewart – a young father of two who was sentenced to 70 years in prison for a third conviction on burglary charges (his priors were also non-violent and theft-related) – will no longer be the norm and the other 3,000 offenders like Stewart will get the chance to have their sentences reduced. | With the measure passed, cases like that of Jeremy Stewart – a young father of two who was sentenced to 70 years in prison for a third conviction on burglary charges (his priors were also non-violent and theft-related) – will no longer be the norm and the other 3,000 offenders like Stewart will get the chance to have their sentences reduced. |
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