Think Outside the Cage: Vote No on Prop 102

Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

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.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.

Monday, October 04, 2010

Vote No on Prop 102

Vote NO on Prop 102 – Criteria for Setting Bail and Type of Bond

CCJRC urges Colorado voters to vote NO on Prop 102. We believe that Prop 102 serves only the profit interests of the bail bond industry. If passed, many low-income defendants will be unnecessarily denied release from jail while awaiting trial. Prop 102 is bad public policy and it deserves to be rejected by voters.

We need your help to spread the word. There are many higher-profile measures on the November ballot and we don’t want voters to overlook Prop 102. Please forward this information to your friends and family who are registered to vote in Colorado. If you know of organizations or faith communities that would like to join the coalition opposing Prop 102 please contact pam@ccjrc.org.

What Prop 102 would do

Prop 102 asks: “Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Revised Statutes requiring that only defendants arrested for a first offense, nonviolent misdemeanor may be recommended for release or actually released to a pretrial services program’s supervision in lieu of a cash, property, or professional surety bond?”
If Prop 102 passes it would effectively eliminate pretrial services programs in Colorado resulting in many low-income defendants awaiting trial in jail because they can’t afford to pay either the bond or a bondsman. In Colorado, ten judicial districts operate pretrial service programs and these districts serve approximately 70% of the state population.
Pretrial services programs allow a defendant to be released from jail pending trial on an “unsecured bond” meaning that people don’t have to provide cash or property as collateral or pay a bondsmen. Pretrial service programs supervise these defendants to ensure they are complying with the conditions or release and attending court hearings. Prop 102 would only allow people to be eligible for release to pretrial services if they had been arrested for a nonviolent misdemeanor which was their first offense.
Colorado Legislative Council has estimated that Prop 102 would increase jail costs by an estimated $2.8 million a year. In jails already struggling with overcrowding, additional jails beds might have to be constructed at considerably higher cost to taxpayers.
Who Are the Proponents
Prop 102 was developed by the for-profit bail bond industry. The proponents are calling their initiative Safe Streets Colorado and are backed by Bail USA, the leading provider of bail bonds in the country and Americans for the Preservation of Bail, a national organization dedicated to advancing the interests of bail agents.

Who Are the Opponents

Prop 102 is opposed by a coalition of law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, victim and inmate advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, and elected officials including:

American Civil Liberties Union-Colorado, The Bell Policy Center, Boulder County Commissioners, Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, Colorado Center on Law and Policy, Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, Colorado Counties Inc., Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Colorado CURE, Colorado District Attorney’s Council, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, Colorado Progressive Coalition, County Sheriffs of Colorado, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Jefferson County Commissioners, Larimer County Commissioners, New Era Colorado, ProgressNow Colorado, Weld County Commissioners, Governor Bill Ritter, Attorney General John Suthers, District Attorney Stan Garnett, State Senate President Brandon Shaffer, State Senator Morgan Carroll, State Senator Rollie Heath, State Senator John Morse, State Senator Pat Steadman, State Rep. Bob Gardner, State Rep. Claire Levy, and State Rep. Mark Waller.

You can get more information at www.votenoto102.org or email info@votenoto102.org

Recent media coverage:

Prop 102 unlocks opportunities only for bail bondsmen

Susan Greene, Denver Post, 10/3/10

http://www.denverpost.com/greene/ci_16239184

Day Laborers for Prop 102! We Swear!

Colorado Pols, 10/3/10

http://coloradopols.com/diary/13952/day-laborers-for-proposition-102-we-swear

Sheriff: Protestors Paid to Hold Signs

Tami Brese, Grand Junction Sentinel 10/1/10

http://www.kjct8.com/news/25245770/detail.html

Vote “No” on Prop 102