Blog of Rights
Allen
Hopper
08/17/2011
Overincarceration

The ACLU's 12-Step Plan to End California's Addiction to Incarceration

By Allen Hopper, ACLU of Northern California at 11:01am

The Golden State has a problem. An addiction problem. California is addicted to incarceration. We've hit rock bottom, and it's time for an intervention. To help the state break the addiction, yesterday the ACLU of California sent a 12-step plan to every county in the state, as part of a larger ACLU comprehensive public safety realignment report. The report urges a fundamental shift in criminal justice policies toward smart on crime alternatives to incarceration.

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05/19/2011

California Sentencing Reform Should Allow the Time to Fit the Crime

By Allen Hopper, ACLU of Northern California at 5:24pm

The revised California budget is out, and sentencing reform is, well, left out. In his revised budget Gov. Jerry Brown recommitted to his criminal justice realignment plan, but didn't include any sentencing reforms that would help ensure that the plan is effective and affordable. Gov. Brown's realignment reserves state prison for people with the most serious offenses and redirects people with low-level offenses to local control. This is a step in the right direction, but it leaves a key piece of the puzzle missing: we should convert minor offenses from felonies to misdemeanors so that the punishment and its associated cost to taxpayers fit the crime.

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11/16/2010

Prop. 19 Was Only the Beginning

By Allen Hopper, ACLU of Northern California at 11:12am

California voters came out in droves to support Proposition 19 this November. More than 4.1 million people voted for Prop. 19 — the California proposition that would have allowed adults 21 and older to possess and grow small amounts of marijuana for personal use and allow cities and counties to tax and regulate commercial sales. That's more votes than candidate for governor Meg Whitman or Senate candidate Carly Fiorina garnered. Though the measure didn't pass, the degree of support marks an undeniable leap forward in the movement to end marijuana prohibition. In the end, Prop. 19 achieved a higher percentage of "yes" votes (46 percent) than any state-level legalization measure on the ballot over the past decade.

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