(KMJ) In an exclusive interview Thursday on KMJ’s Morning News, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims stood her ground in her opposition to Prop. 57 which is being pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Proposition 57, purports to allow for early release only of those inmates who have committed “non-violent offenses.” Mims also discussed her reaction to the voicemail that Gov. Brown left, scolding her for her stance on the controversial issue. Click play to listen.
Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse, breaking from his fellow democrats, calls it “Prop 47 on steroids”. Morse, who chairs the “No on Prop. 57” campaign spoke at length Thursday with KMJ’s Broeske & Musson calling Sheriff Mims the “Patron Saint of No on Prop 57”. Listen below.
In his voicemail, Gov. Brown scolds Sheriff Mims saying the “mailer is extremely false and I would even say malicious. So, I hope that if you’re lending your names to things you can have some decency and due diligence so they don’t convey easily refutable facts. That’s the kind of scare tactics that I think are unbecoming of a public official.” Listen to Gov. Brown’s voicemail below.
Other powerful figures have come out against the measure including crime victims advocate Marc Klaas, 3 Strikes founder Mike Reynolds of Fresno and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer who said people convicted of domestic violence, hate crimes and human trafficking would be among those eligible for early release. “Every family deserves to feel safe in their homes, and every person deserves to feel confident that they can walk down the street at night,” Faulconer said in a recent news conference. “And every victim of a crime deserves to see their assailant serve time behind bars.”
Reynolds, also appearing on KMJ’s Broeske & Musson, called Gov. Brown’s proposal a “huge mistake”. Listen below.
Supporters of Prop. 57 say the ballot measure will save money by reducing prison spending, prevent federal courts from indiscriminately releasing prisoners because of overcrowding and place an emphasis on rehabilitation, especially for juveniles.
PROP 57 DETAILS FROM CALIF. SEC. OF STATE’S OFFICE:
Allows parole consideration for persons convicted of nonviolent felonies upon completion of full prison term for primary offense, as defined. Authorizes Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award sentence credits for rehabilitation, good behavior, or educational achievements. Requires Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to adopt regulations to implement new parole and sentence credit provisions and certify they enhance public safety. Provides juvenile court judges shall make determination, upon prosecutor motion, whether juveniles age 14 and older should be prosecuted and sentenced as adults. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Net state savings that could range from the tens of millions of dollars to the low hundreds of millions of dollars annually primarily due to a reduction in the prison population from additional paroles granted and credits earned. Net county costs that could range from the millions to tens of millions of dollars annually, declining to a few million dollars after initial implementation of the measure. (15-0121.) (Full Text)
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