Article Media
Today the ACLU of California sent an open letter to Governor Jerry Brown, Senate President Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Perez asking that two key reforms targeting waste in prison spending are included in the May revised budget. These two reforms alone would save the state hundreds of millions annually: making possession of a small amount of drugs for personal use a misdemeanor instead of a felony and making low-level non-violent property offenses – like vandalism or writing a bad check – a misdemeanor instead of a felony. The ACLU also put up billboards in Los Angeles and San Francisco to present its reforms. The billboards say "Felony sentencing for possession – are you high? Balance the budget and our priorities." The billboards can be viewed online here.
"California spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year locking people up for low-level, non-violent offenses, said Abdi Soltani, Executive Director of the ACLU of Northern California. "Meanwhile, we are slashing funds for public universities and social services. So we had to ask, who is really high here? To balance the budget, we need to balance our priorities. We can save money and keep our communities safe by reserving felony sentences for serious crimes."
More than 9,000 people are currently locked up in state prison for possessing a small amount of drugs for personal use, at an estimated cost to taxpayers of more than $400 million per year. Additionally, the bar for being able to charge someone with a felony and send them to state prison is $400 for vandalism. Anyone passing a bad check of $450 or more could also be charged with a felony and sent to state prison. Felonies can result in significantly longer sentences than misdemeanors – up to three years.
The ACLU's proposed reforms would help to bring back balance to our sentencing laws, so that the punishment fits the crime, and yield substantial savings because felonies involve higher court costs and result in lengthier periods of incarceration than misdemeanors. These savings would make implementation of the governor's realignment plan less costly, allowing local authorities to direct the money saved to fund rehabilitation, drug treatment, and other proven strategies for reducing crime. At the same time, these sentencing reforms will help to preserve scarce dollars for public schools and universities, public safety, and social services. And, they would allow California to stop spending unnecessary millions incarcerating people for lengthy periods who pose no serious threat to public safety.
According to a new poll released by the ACLU, Drug Policy Alliance and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a solid majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents from every corner of the state believe that too many people are imprisoned and that penalties for minor offenses are too harsh. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of likely voters support reducing the penalty for simple possession of a small amount of drugs for personal use.
ACLU of California's Letter to Governor Brown (May 4, 2011)
Billboards: "Balance the budget and our priorities"
Learn more about the ACLU of California's sentencing reform proposal
New Poll Finds Strong Majority of CA Voters Believe Too Many People Imprisoned (April 11, 2011)
