Prop 36: Two steps forward? More like ten steps back

Decades ago, I entered the courtroom and stood next to a young man accused of stealing food and other necessities from his local market, loading them into his car and driving off. After the young man was pulled over and arrested by the police because he fit the description, the San Diego Deputy DA charged him with petty theft with a prior conviction. Despite our confidence that Gabe was innocent, and his prior conviction was minor, we found ourselves nervously awaiting a jury verdict after we successfully challenged the flawed police identification of him. We finally heard the verdict after an intense period of waiting.

"Not Guilty."

We were relieved that Gabe could finally start rebuilding his life after spending months needlessly locked up in jail while his work, home and life crumbled. Unfortunately, in the pre-Proposition 47 world, the outcome of his case was the exception to the rule. I watched many other innocent people - all Black and Latine - plead guilty to avoid going to trial and risking six years of prison time if the jury found them guilty.

Today, as the LA County Public Defender, I join the LA County Board of Supervisors in urging voters to reject Proposition 36. The proposal to roll back Prop 47, set to appear on the November ballot, is not the solution to California's pressing challenges of addiction, mental illness, and affordable housing. Instead of addressing these issues with innovative, evidence-based strategies, this initiative threatens to drag us back into the failed and costly era of mass incarceration--a system that did not improve communities or reduce recidivism.

Prop 36's provisions to increase punishments for repeat offenses, particularly in theft and drug-related crimes, will disproportionately impact Black and Latine people and the poor. The sentencing enhancements will punish individuals twice-- once for the underlying offense and again through mandatory additional years of incarceration. Prop 36 will perpetuate a system that burdens our courts, prisons, and communities, offering no real solutions to the challenges we face. It will fill California's prisons and jails, wasting taxpayer dollars to warehouse even more people, leaving them worse off. Public safety will not get better.

Prop 47 has made our communities better. Passed in 2014, it reduced certain nonviolent crimes, like petty theft and drug possession, from felonies to misdemeanors. Since Prop 47's enactment, California has seen a reduction in recidivism. It hasn't led to spikes in violent or property crime, as some had feared and now falsely claim. Instead, it has turned the tide on mass incarceration, and diverted hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars from the state's prison budget to services that strengthen communities and families, such as education, housing, and employment programs for people reentering society after incarceration.

Prop 47 has made real gains. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, it has saved California an estimated $95 million just last year. That money is being invested in programs that prevent crime by giving people the tools they need to stay out of the criminal legal system. Rolling back Prop 47 would strip these needed programs of the funding needed to keep our communities safe.

So why, in the face of these clear benefits, are we seeing efforts to take us backwards? The special interests driving this ballot initiative--including major retailers and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association--are promoting a vision of public safety that relies on fear and resides in the past. These groups want people to believe that Prop 47 is responsible for California's problems with retail theft, fentanyl, and homelessness. But they're wrong. Prop 47 is not to blame.

At its core, Prop 36 isn't about making Californians safer. It funnels funding away from treatment and housing programs and into prisons. California prisons are already overcrowded. People are already reentering society without adequate access to support. With the promise of less funding for programs and housing at the passage of Prop 36 comes a promise of more individuals experiencing homelessness or turning to substance use - the exact opposite of the solution needed by Californians. As the Public Defender for Los Angeles County, I've seen the devastation caused by over-reliance on incarceration. It breaks families, deepens racial inequities, and sets people up to fail when they reenter society. We are at risk of losing the progress we've made from existing initiatives that provide treatment and housing. More importantly, we risk returning to a time when the criminal legal system perpetuates a vicious cycle of recidivism instead of empowerment.

If we truly want safer communities and a thriving California, we must reject this punitive, backwards approach. Instead, we need to focus on real, long-term solutions that prevent harm and build stronger communities. Rolling back Prop 47 won't fix what's broken in California. Let's continue to invest in mental health services, affordable housing, and programs that offer people a path forward. Vote NO on Prop 36.