By Michele Hanisee A judge has dismissed one of the lawsuits aimed at thwarting the will of voters who last fall passed Prop. 66, the sweeping death penalty reform initiative. The lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Northern California aimed to delay the resumption of executions by challenging the state’s process for establishing execution procedures. […]

By Eric Siddall As crime rates rise and victims continue to be marginalized by some state legislators, the Los Angeles Times again provided a “criminal justice reform” advocate with a platform to expound on how the system is too harsh. This time it was Fordham law professor John Pfaff, who blamed budgetary incentives and the […]

By Michele Hanisee The truths we told about which inmates Prop. 57 would allow to be released years early is now slowly but surely being substantiated. The latest and unlikely source: the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), sex offenders and their advocates. Gov. Jerry Brown and the supporters of his inmate-freeing ballot initiative […]

By Michele Hanisee Some threats to public safety are obvious, such as Prop. 47 and Prop. 57. They were high-profile initiatives that received plenty of public attention and debate. Other efforts to change the criminal justice system appear to be well meaning, but contain consequences that reveal both a misunderstanding of how the system operates […]

By Michele Hanisee Despite objections from countless law enforcement organizations, Voltaire Williams who is serving a life sentence for his critical role in the 1985 assassination of LAPD Detective Thomas Williams (no relation) was granted parole on May 2nd, by a three-person panel from the Board of Parole Hearings. Voltaire Williams, who has spent the […]