Press Release
Living Under Seige
Posted: Thursday, March 1, 2007
"One would expect that as mayors, community leaders, and local residents across California are caught in the middle of a gang warfare and with tens of thousands of arrestees and convicts being released before completing their full sentence, that Speaker Fabian Núñez would be at the forefront offering solutions and collaborating with city leaders. But as Californians residents find themselves living in fear and under siege, Speaker Núñez is once again ignoring the pressing issues of California and embarking on another "UV Radiation Tour" to Washington DC.
"In Los Angeles alone, since 2002, while more than 200,000 inmates have been released early and a vast majority of these inmates walked out of prison while serving no more than 10% of their time, Democrats continue to advocate for a death penalty moratorium, the decriminalization of offenses, and an early release program for prisoners.
"Starting with Speaker Núñez, California Democrats need to stop ignoring the issues important to Californians. They also need to stop favoring the rights of inmates over the rights of Californians and ensure that the punishment levied to each inmate be fully administered. Any crime solution that this legislature enacts needs to be focused on protecting the public."
Hector M. Barajas, Press Secretary, California Republican Party
32 Of 58 California Counties "Released Inmates Before They Had Completed Their Jail Sentences"
"Last year, 32 of California's 58 counties -- including Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside -- released inmates before they had completed their jail sentences. Los Angeles County, with the largest jail system in the nation, has led the way. In the 3 1/2 years before Baca closed jails, about 10,000 inmates were let out prematurely. In the 3 1/2 years that followed, almost 150,000 were released three or more days early." (Jack Leonard, Megan Garvey, and Doug Smith, "Release Inmates Early Has A Costly Human Total," Los Angeles Times, 5/14/06)
200,000 Inmates Release Early - Vast Majority Only Served No More Than 10% of Time
"Nearly 200,000 inmates have been let go early since mid-2002 -- the vast majority walking out after serving no more than 10% of the time ordered by a judge. By year's end, officials said, they expect that all inmates sentenced to county jail will serve at least 25% of their sentences. It's a policy shift that Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley both support." (Megan Garvey and Jack Leonard, "Early Release Rules To Be Revised," Los Angeles Times, 11/9/06)
· "Moreno joined more than 150,000 county inmates who have been released during the last four years after serving fractions of their sentences. Thousands, like Moreno, committed violent crimes when they would otherwise have been locked up, even with time off for good behavior.... As a result, nearly everyone now sentenced to 90 days or less is let go immediately. Many others leave after serving no more than 10% of their time, making Los Angeles County Jail sentences among the weakest in the nation." (Jack Leonard, Megan Garvey, and Doug Smith, "Release Inmates Early Has A Costly Human Total," Los Angeles Times, 5/14/06)
· "On average last year, the jails were stuffed with 1,600 more inmates than they were designed to hold.... The number of inmates released early because of crowding has dropped significantly, from 19,340 in 1998 to a low of 252 in 2004, but the report still noted the grand jury's concerns about the 2,057 inmates who were given early release in 2005." (Sara Lin, "O.C. Faulted On Jail Squeeze," Los Angeles Times, 6/15/06)
Early Release Convicts Commit Additional Crimes
This year, a Times investigation found that many inmates released early were accused of committing new crimes during the time they would have been in custody. Among those cases were 16 accused of murder, 518 charged with robbery and 215 charged with sex offenses." (Megan Garvey and Jack Leonard, "Early Release Rules To Be Revised," Los Angeles Times, 11/9/06)
· "If not for a chronic shortage of jail beds in Los Angeles County, Dennard's killer would have been in jail four more months. Moreno had been convicted of possessing a sawed-off shotgun -- a felony. A probation officer called him a 'danger to the community,' and a judge sentenced him to a year in jail, the county maximum. Six days later he was released into a work program. Since his arrest, he had served a total of 53 days." (Jack Leonard, Megan Garvey, and Doug Smith, "Release Inmates Early Has A Costly Human Total," Los Angeles Times, 5/14/06)
Californians Living In a War Zone
''Los Angeles is ground zero for modern gang activity,' said J. Stephen Tidwell, the assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in charge of the Los Angeles field office. 'They are more dispersed and more dangerous than ever.' The Justice Department has begun surveying about 20 cities to determine the extent of what Kevin J. O'Connor, an associate deputy attorney general, called a 'resurgence of gang violence in several U.S. cities.'" (Randal C. Archibold, "Officials See A Spread In Activity Of Gangs," New York Times, 2/8/07)
· "It's like a war scene from the evening news -- a man armed with an AK-47 indiscriminately opens fire on an apartment building, killing a man and injuring a woman. But this war zone is in East Oakland. The incident happened at 7979 MacArthur Blvd., and those who live and work in the neighborhood said Tuesday that 'war zone' is in no way too strong a term to describe the area. Random gunfire is common, and there is little hope of peace. 'I hear guns two, three times a week,' said a woman who identified herself only as Theresa because she fears reprisals from the neighborhood drug dealers. Theresa lives just a few doors down from where a gunman armed with an AK-47 opened fire Sunday night, strafing the building with bullets and killing George Hasbua, 49, and injuring a woman whom police still will not identify. A dozen bullet holes pepper the gray wall next to the front door." (Jason B. Johnson, "Neighborhood Likened To A War Zone," San Francisco Chronicle, 4/22/06)
· "Five members of the 204th Street gang allegedly stabbed 21-year-old Christopher Ash 80 times and cut his throat before dumping his body in the middle of a Carson street Dec. 28, according to the L.A. County district attorney's office. Lt. Roger Murphy of the Los Angeles Police Department's Harbor Gateway gang detail, said Ash lived in an apartment in the heart of 204th Street gang turf and associated with members of the gang.... An LAPD crackdown after Cheryl's slaying resulted in the arrests of several 204th Street gang leaders, and Murphy said that instilled an "atmosphere of paranoia" in the gang." (Amanda Covarrubias and Sam Quinones, "Gang Members Accused Of Killing Witness," Los Angeles Times, 2/24/07)
· "Increased community worries about street gang issues in Rancho Cordova have generated a gang awareness information seminar, scheduled for Friday at Cordova High School.... 'The seminar was prompted by a growing concern voiced by various community members about gang issues in Rancho Cordova,' Jim Huber, Cordova High vice principal, said in an e-mail." (Walter Yost, "Gang Awareness Seminar Scheduled," Sacramento Bee, 2/10/07)
· "The authorities warned Wednesday that street gangs with ties to El Salvador and other Central American nations have been growing in size and violence, with two gangs based in Los Angeles counting thousands of members here and in El Salvador. Law enforcement officials, meeting for the International Chiefs of Police Summit on Transnational Gangs, said that gangs with roots or ties to Los Angeles had spread to 40 states and seven countries." (Randal C. Archibold, "Officials See A Spread In Activity Of Gangs," New York Times, 2/8/07)
· "As incidents of gang violence surge nationwide, representatives from 13 California cities will meet in Oakland today to share information and seek solutions during the inaugural meeting of the California Cities Gang Prevention Network. The new organization brings together law enforcement, health and school administrators, and community activists from the cities hardest hit by homicides and other violence, including Oakland, San Francisco, Richmond and Los Angeles." (Jason B. Johnson, "Cities Hit By Rising Street Violence," San Francisco Chronicle, 1/24/07)
DEMOCRAT CRIME PLAN
Democrats Counter Prison Construction and Seek Sentencing Alternatives
"Some lawmakers said more policy changes were needed to lower the inmate population. 'We can look at bricks and mortar, but we have to look at sentencing reform and parole reform -- that's where change is needed,' said state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, who carried unsuccessful legislation this year that would have amended the state's three-strikes law to lessen the use of lengthy sentences for some non-violent offenses." (Mark Martin, "Prisons In Crisis, Governor Declares," San Francisco Chronicle, 6/27/06)
Democrats Call For Death Penalty Moratorium And Reject "Jessica's Law"
"That syndrome was displayed last Tuesday when the Assembly's liberal-dominated Public Safety Committee passed a measure calling for a three-year moratorium on executions and both it and the Senate's equally liberal Public Safety Committee rejected Republican bills to enact a 'Jessica's Law' that would increase penalties for sex crimes and provide closer supervision of sexual offenders after their release, including a ban on living within 2,000 feet of schools and parks.... The death penalty moratorium vote came just a week before Clarence Ray Allen was to be executed for arranging the 1980 murder of a witness - plus two bystanders - to another murder in which he was involved six years earlier." (Dan Walters, "Democrats Again handing Republicans Soft-on-Crime Ammo," Sacramento Bee, 1/16/06)
Assembly Democrats Vote To Support Child Pornography Felony "Exemption"
"Early on, AB 50 was filled with loopholes that would make your skin crawl. For instance, Leno provided an 'exemption' from felony charges if a suspect was caught with less than 100 pieces of child pornography. In a creepy all-time low, Assembly Democrats voted for Leno's plan to go soft on child porn." (Jill Stewart, "Sex Offense Laws In State Are A Crime," The Daily News Of Los Angeles, 2/19/06)
· Public Safety Chairman Argues That Sex Criminals Just Need Jobs
"Last year, Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, essentially argued that misdemeanor sex criminals just need jobs. As quoted by KCRA, Leno said, 'If you deny them secure housing and deny them an opportunity to get on their feet and get a job and to be able to move forward for themselves and for their own children, they're more likely to reoffend, not less likely.' Good Lord. Sex crimes are not caused by economic troubles. It was Leno, once again, who oversaw the demise lat year of a bill to close the horrific Atascadero loopholes delineated by the Bee.... To the shock of many, the bill was killed by Leno and his two equally ultraliberal colleagues...." (Jill Stewart, "Molesters' Friends in High Places, Orange County Register, 2/17/06)
The 2007 Democrat Plan Remains An "Empty Canvas"
"Democratic leaders in the state Senate took their first step toward regulating the flow of inmates into California's dangerously jampacked prison system Thursday by introducing a bill to create a sentencing commission. The proposal contained virtually no details, but the Senate Democrats said they favored a commission with "teeth" -- a departure from the model already sketched out by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that seeks only to research and analyze California's sentencing system and recommend possible changes. Even though the Democratic version of a commission remains a virtually empty canvas, it came under harsh attack Thursday from legislative Republicans." (Andy Furillo, "Dems Push Sentence Panel," Sacramento Bee, 1/19/07)
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