To: Governor Gavin Newsom
Gov. Brown: Your prison expansion plan is a HUGE mistake. Find a smarter solution to overcrowding.
There are smarter, more responsible ways to satisfy the court order to reduce prison overcrowding in California. I'll have your back against Republicans if you support "smart on crime" strategies that don't expand our prisons but instead reduce our inmate population through fundamental reform.
Why is this important?
Gov. Brown is trying to pull a bait and switch. He's proposed raiding the budget surplus created by Prop 30, so he can throw $715 MILLION down the black hole of California's prison system.
Gov. Brown claims that his hands are tied. He claims a court order mandating him to reduce prison size by 10,000 has forced him to spend billions more in taxpayer dollars over the next 5 years. Don't believe the spin. The Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee editorial boards don't; they've ripped apart the Governor's approach. According to the Brown Administration's own proposals to the court earlier this summer, California can reduce its prisoner population by 10,000 through smart, proven, and most importantly SAFE strategies that emphasize rehabilitation, increased prisoner firefighting brigades, "good time" credits in which prisoners earn early release, and the release of elderly, sick, debilitated prisoners that pose no threat to society.
Here's the truth: Gov. Brown is afraid. He and our Democratic legislators are terrified of being labeled "soft on crime." We need to convince him there's another way. If you care about schools, universities, infrastructure, and vital services, sign the petition.
Gov. Brown claims that his hands are tied. He claims a court order mandating him to reduce prison size by 10,000 has forced him to spend billions more in taxpayer dollars over the next 5 years. Don't believe the spin. The Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee editorial boards don't; they've ripped apart the Governor's approach. According to the Brown Administration's own proposals to the court earlier this summer, California can reduce its prisoner population by 10,000 through smart, proven, and most importantly SAFE strategies that emphasize rehabilitation, increased prisoner firefighting brigades, "good time" credits in which prisoners earn early release, and the release of elderly, sick, debilitated prisoners that pose no threat to society.
Here's the truth: Gov. Brown is afraid. He and our Democratic legislators are terrified of being labeled "soft on crime." We need to convince him there's another way. If you care about schools, universities, infrastructure, and vital services, sign the petition.