A symposium to address the possible far-reaching impact of Proposition 9 on the State of California was held in the Catholic Chapel Friday. Attended by inmates, special interest groups and sponsors of the proposition, the symposium made for emotionally charged dialogue.
Proposition 9, also know as Marcy’s Law, is a proposed amendment to the California Constitution, which if passed in November’s election will give victims of violent crime more rights relating to prosecuting offenders, receiving restitution and attending the parole hearings of convicted criminals.
Proponents of the proposed amendment believe it is needed to repair flaws in “The Victims’ Bill of Rights” passed by voters in 1982. Opponents argue that the proposition unfairly increases prison sentences by increasing parole board hearing denials from the standard 1 to 5 years, to a statute maximum of 15 years, which they say will essentially increase already long prison terms to excessive and unjust lengths.
Proposition 9 Campaign Director Mitch Zak explained, to an engaged audience, why he believed that the proposition should be passed. “Politicians use public safety as a political football,” said Zak, stating his support for the proposition.
Prison inmates and visitors to the prison showered Zak with the problems they anticipate the proposition will cause to inmates, prisons, and the state’s finances.
Troy Williams addressed the audience from a particular position of being both a Lifer and the brother of a victim of violent crime. His heartwrenching explanation of the effects the proposition will have on him and other Lifers moved at least two people in the audience to tears.
Opponents of the proposition say that the proposal will cost hundreds of millions and take away hope from Lifers who have served out decades of time, and are currently eligible for parole. “What happens when you give a man a 15 year “What happens when you give a man a 15-year parole denial who has served 30 years on a 15-year-to-life sentence, what happens when you take away a man’s hope?” one inmate asked of the panel.
The question asked by most of the opponents of the proposition was, can a state with an already cash strapped budget afford a law that will add more debt? “California will have to spend hundreds of millions to save tens of millions,” said inmate panelist George Lamb, speaking on the possible fiscal impact Proposition 9 will have on the state.
Bilenda Harris-Ritter, crime victim, attorney, and trustee for the National Organization of the Parents of Murdered Children (POMC), spoke on the burdens that current laws have on the family members of the victims of crime, who have the right to attend yearly parole hearings of the offenders who murdered their loved ones. Harris-Ritter, whose parents were murdered, expressed her views in support of Proposition 9 to a very sympathetic audience.
Speakers from both sides of Proposition 9 agreed that victims and their families should have enforceable constitutional rights. The opposing sides differed when it came to taking away many of the rights prisoners have in relationship to rehabilitation and the pursuit of reentry into the community.
Keith Wattley, prisoners’ rights attorney and staunch opponent of Proposition 9, stated his views to the crowd. “This proposition is trying to keep people in prison longer under the coat of victims rights… there is consistent evidence that locking people up for longer periods of time does not work,” said Wattley.
According to guest speaker Jonathan Simon, professor of law and associate dean of the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program at Berkeley, in the past 5 years over 1000 laws have been enacted enhancing prison sentences.
“California is in the crosshair of a major human disaster, this over-emphasis on violent crime is responsible for 8 percent of California’s general fund, California cannot afford to do this all over again,” said Simon.
The symposium was orchestrated by Patten University at San Quentin/Prison University Project, sponsored by Jody Lewen and Jennifer Scaife. Leonard Rubio and Victim-Offender Education Group Facilitator and Catholic Chaplain Fr. Stephen Barber, co-hosted the event.
A copy of Proposition 9 is available for review by inmates in the prison law library.
