Law enforcement groups opposed to California's Proposition 5, the most ambitious sentencing and prison reform in U.S. history, recently tried to get it thrown off the ballot. But we fought back, with the result that the California Supreme Court rejected their challenge and affirmed that the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act will appear on the November state ballot as Prop. 5.
The 34 district attorneys and two former governors (Wilson and Davis) involved in the suit all know that Prop. 5 has strong public support so they tried to keep it away from the voters. But their effort, built upon slick legal arguments that badly mischaracterize Prop. 5, has failed. Now the voters will decide whether to pass Prop. 5 and, with it, create new youth treatment programs, improve and expand treatment offered through the court system, and solve the state's prison overcrowding crisis.
This won’t be the last we hear from law enforcement groups. As California Political Week put it, "to top ranking officials from law enforcement, nothing is more important than the defeat of Prop. 5." The California District Attorneys Association is heading up the opposition with support from associations of sheriffs and police chiefs.
We’re working hard to make sure that the pro voices are even louder. Our fast-growing coalition of reform advocates includes the League of Women Voters, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the NAACP of California and a wide range of youth advocates and treatment experts.
You can help stop the lies and broadcast the truth about treatment for nonviolent offenders by
making a contribution toward the "Yes on Prop. 5" campaign today. This will keep Prop. 5 on track to turn around thousands of lives and make history in California.
With your help and the help of our growing "Yes on Prop. 5" coalition, we will make ourselves heard above our opponents’ fear-mongering -- and win this November!
