Written by Urvi Sakurikar
One of Governor Newsom’s advisory committees has released a report suggesting some changes to California’s penal code, which were extreme, to say the least. The report called for changes such as ending mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes and limiting the use of sentence enhancements, despite a Los Angeles County judge blocking a proposed ban on sentence enhancements the day before. State Senator Dave Cortese even brought up a bill that would allow inmates who were sentenced to the death penalty, or life without parole, to petition the court for a lighter.
Even without the recommendations on Tuesday’s report, California Democrats have a history of favoring dangerous criminals over the safety of the state’s citizens.
For example, Governor Newsom’s lack of action paved the way for Gerardo Zavala, a convicted murder and rapist with a lengthy criminal record and an ICE hold request, to be released back into the community. The prosecutor on the case, Assistant District Attorney David Alavezos, claimed the crime scene to be “the worst [he had] ever seen”. Unfortunately, Zavala is not the only criminal free to offend again because of Governor Newsom’s softheartedness toward crime.
The stipulations of Tuesday’s report, as well as deeply irresponsible behavior on the part of Governor Newsom and California Democrats, are contributing to an extremely unsafe environment for law-abiding California voters.
Soft on crime policies are becoming a common thread among state Democrats. For example, LA County DA George Gascon is on a quest to eliminate sentencing enhancements, which prosecutors use to ensure criminals are kept behind bars. A judge struck down Gascon’s proposed changes last week, but Gascon has pledged to appeal.
The citizens of California pay exorbitant taxes, and the fact that their money is being given to public officials that seemingly could not care less about the safety or quality of life of the people they are meant to serve is unfair to everyone.
Photo via Shutterstock.com
