Think Outside the Cage: CA - Voters Oppose Proposition 5 and 6 and Support 9

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Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

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Wednesday, November 05, 2008

CA - Voters Oppose Proposition 5 and 6 and Support 9

Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

(11-04) 23:04 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- California voters were trouncing a pair of contrasting anti-crime measures, one that aimed to shrink prisons and another that promised to grow them while boosting funding for law enforcement.

Proposition 5 would expand programs to divert drug addicts and nonviolent offenders from prison to rehabilitation. It was designed to keep them from cycling in and out of overcrowded prisons that cost taxpayers more than $10 million a year.

Opponents said the programs were ripe for abuse.

With about a third of precincts reporting, voters were also rejecting Proposition 6, which would require spending at least $965 million a year on programs for police, prosecutors, jails and juvenile lockups - a $365 million increase from current spending, said the state's legislative analyst. The measure would also increase some penalties for convicts.

A third measure backed by crime victims, Proposition 9, held a significant lead. It would allow victims to speak at bail hearings and limit a defendant's ability to gain evidence from a victim before trial. The measure would also limit the release of inmates due to crowding. That could cost hundreds of millions of dollars a year, the legislative analyst said.

SF Gate