California voters approved by a wide margin a ballot measure to impose more severe penalties for certain crimes – the initiative received an overwhelming 70.6% support, with nearly 7.6 million ballots counted.
The outcome reflected the state’s Proposition 36 response to lighter penalties for shoplifting and drug-related crimes – and passed despite Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s opposition to the reform.
Proposition 36 authorizes felony charges for possession of drugs, including fentanyl, and for theft of less than $950 if the offender has two prior drug or theft convictions, according to Official summary of its provisions.
The new law creates a new category of crime called a “treatment-mandatory felony,” which allows a drug conviction to be vacated if a person completes rehabilitation.
According to a summary of the measure, “Defendants who plead guilty to aggravated drug possession and complete treatment may have their charges dismissed.”
Newsom strongly opposed the measure, saying “Proposition 36 takes us back to the 1980s, to mass incarceration – it promotes a promise that can’t be kept.”
“Yes on Proposition 36” advocates argued that drastic measures were necessary to preserve residents’ quality of life. Advertisement Considering the impact of theft in stores, which forced stores to inconvenience common buyers by discontinuing goods and increasing prices.
The group behind the initiative also argued that it offered a balanced approach to drug users by adopting similar treatment-mandated sentences that exist in other states.
The measure was projected to win by major news outlets with about 56.6% of ballots counted.
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US News(T)California(T)Crime(T)Gavin Newsom
