Op-Ed Op-Ed California's Prop. 47 revolution: Voters were sold a bill of goods

As crime rates rise, Californians are realizing that they were sold a bill of goods on Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure that converted some felonies to misdemeanors. The campaign spin was all about reducing the punishment for drug possession. But proponents played down its dramatic softening of penalties for many non-drug offenses.

Under this law, more than 3,700 inmates have had their sentences reduced and been released from state prison. Drug addicts now often escape punishment for crimes they commonly commit to support their habits: shoplifting, writing bad checks and any thefts under $950 — even of guns. And most semiautomatic pistols and revolvers are purchased new for less than $950. This leniency just facilitates continued addiction.

Before Proposition 47, when prosecutors evaluated the appropriate degree of punishment to seek for someone accused of drug possession or theft, they studied the person's criminal history. That history doesn't matter much anymore. Even someone who has been convicted and served time for a serious crime — such as armed robbery, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon — can no longer be sent back to prison if convicted of a new theft or drug offense, because these have been reclassified as misdemeanors.

Let's say someone snatches a purse from your hand without knocking you over or using much force. That's called "grand theft person." Before Proposition 47, it was a "wobbler:" a crime that could be classified as either a felony or a misdemeanor. To decide which to charge, prosecutors would study the defendant's record. If, for example, he had a prior robbery, the prosecutor would probably go for a felony conviction. But now, unless your purse cost more than $950, the theft can be only a misdemeanor, meaning state prison is not possible as a punishment and deterrent.

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