25 signatures reached
To: Residents of California
Support Bill That Addresses Drastic Racial Disparities in the Legal System
Sign this petition to show support for the California Racial Justice Act (Assembly Bill 256).
Why is this important?
Currently there are intense racial disparities in the incarcerated population. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 4 out of every 10 people incarcerated in the state are African American men- ten times the imprisonment rate for white men (CA Democratic Caucus, 2021). This happens because systemic racism and bias are prominent within the legal process and criminal court system. Racism impacts every step of the criminal justice system from policing to the courtroom to incarceration and even after release (CA Democratic Caucus, 2021).
This bill addresses these disparities through granting defendants the right to equal justice by filing for a motion at trial or following a conviction if the defendant experienced discrimination by an attorney, judge, juror, law enforcement officer, or expert witness (A.B. 256; League of Women Voters of California, 2021). It also provides retroactive relief to those who have previously endured racial disparities in charges, convictions, and sentencing (Kalra et al., 2021; League of Women Voters of California, 2021). Plus, implementation of this bill will decrease court and correctional annual spending by reducing the proportion of minority races currently incarcerated and soon to be incarcerated due to the intentional biases (Kalra et al., 2021).
A.B. 256, 2021 Annual, 2021 Reg. Sess. (California 2021). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB256
CA State Assembly: Democratic Caucus. (2021, January 15). Assemblymember Kalra announces new california racial justice act for all. CA State Assembly: Democratic Caucus. https://asmdc.org/press-releases/Assemblymember-kalra-announces-new-california-racial-justice-act-all
League of Women Voters of California. (2021, January 15). Support the racial justice act for all, ab256. https://lwvc.org/news/support-racial-justice-act-all-ab-256
League of Women Voters of California. (2021, January 28). Racial justice act community implementation. https://cavotes.org/racial-justice-act-community-implementation
Kalra, A., Kamlager, Rivas, R. Santiago. (2021). Assembly bill 256: California racial justice act
for all [Fact sheet]. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.naswca.org/resource/resmgr/files/2021lld/AB256FactSheet.pdf
This bill addresses these disparities through granting defendants the right to equal justice by filing for a motion at trial or following a conviction if the defendant experienced discrimination by an attorney, judge, juror, law enforcement officer, or expert witness (A.B. 256; League of Women Voters of California, 2021). It also provides retroactive relief to those who have previously endured racial disparities in charges, convictions, and sentencing (Kalra et al., 2021; League of Women Voters of California, 2021). Plus, implementation of this bill will decrease court and correctional annual spending by reducing the proportion of minority races currently incarcerated and soon to be incarcerated due to the intentional biases (Kalra et al., 2021).
A.B. 256, 2021 Annual, 2021 Reg. Sess. (California 2021). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB256
CA State Assembly: Democratic Caucus. (2021, January 15). Assemblymember Kalra announces new california racial justice act for all. CA State Assembly: Democratic Caucus. https://asmdc.org/press-releases/Assemblymember-kalra-announces-new-california-racial-justice-act-all
League of Women Voters of California. (2021, January 15). Support the racial justice act for all, ab256. https://lwvc.org/news/support-racial-justice-act-all-ab-256
League of Women Voters of California. (2021, January 28). Racial justice act community implementation. https://cavotes.org/racial-justice-act-community-implementation
Kalra, A., Kamlager, Rivas, R. Santiago. (2021). Assembly bill 256: California racial justice act
for all [Fact sheet]. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.naswca.org/resource/resmgr/files/2021lld/AB256FactSheet.pdf
How it will be delivered
Social Media - instagram and twitter