SACRAMENTO, Calif., – Governor Jerry Brown recently signed Assembly Bill 2492 authored by Assembly member Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer Sr. This measure deletes the requirement that a person convicted of using or being under the influence of specified controlled substances serve at least 90 days in a county jail.
In the 1980s, Congress and state legislatures around the country imposed mandatory minimum sentences for certain criminal offenses, including but not limited to being under the influence of illegal drugs. As a result of these laws, prison and county jail populations across the nation skyrocketed, causing overcrowding in federal, state and local facilities, and shifting valuable resources from important government priorities to correctional institutions.
Evidence has shown that mandatory minimum sentences are not an effective deterrent to reducing crime. A Policy Institute study entitled, “Treatment Not Incarceration,” reported that drug offenders sentenced under mandatory minimum guidelines have a two-thirds chance of recidivating. Additional evidence shows that investing in drug treatment rather than incarceration saves tax payer dollars.
“This bill will give judges the discretion they need to sentence people appropriately according to both previous offenses as well as the circumstances surrounding their crime,” said Assembly member Jones-Sawyer.
AB 2492 will take effect on January 1, 2015.
Assembly member Reginald Byron Jones- Sawyer Sr. is a Democrat representing areas of Los Angeles and the communities of Huntington Park, Walnut Park and Florence- Firestone.
For more information contact: Joey Hill (916) 319-2059