Source: www.commondreams.org | Original Post Date: November 5, 2014 –
A California public safety measure to reclassify low-level crimes, including drug possession, won a clear victory on Tuesday, as voters paved the way for thousands of non-violent offenders to be resentenced and potentially released from the state’s notoriously overcrowded prison system.
Voting 58.5 to 41.5 percent to pass Proposition 47, California residents “spoke clearly” on the issue of mass incarceration, according to Brian Elderbroom and Ryan King with the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center. They wrote, “The current sentencing and correctional system in California is costly and inefficient and voters would prefer their tax dollars to be spent on education and...
