Despite Police Fear Mongering, California Deals Blow to Drug War and Prison Industrial Complex

By Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Nov. 05, 2014

The citizens of California let the establishment know how they felt about the drug war and mass incarceration Tuesday in a landmark vote.

With the passage of Proposition 47 as many as 10,000 people could be eligible for early release from state prisons. It is also expected that local courts will dispense 40,000 fewer felony convictions each year.

This is a move that is sure to have the uniformed shaking in their boots. “Oh no, criminals will be getting out of jail!” However, Prop 47 will not be putting murderers and rapists back on the street.

The ballot measure simply downgrades the victimless crime of drug possession to a misdemeanor. It also downgrades other various nonviolent crimes as well.

According to the Huffington Post, Proposition 47 has led in every poll conducted since it was certified in June. The measure’s supporters have been an eclectic bunch, from conservatives like Newt Gingrich and business tycoon B. Wayne Hughes Jr. to liberal performers like John Legend and Jay-Z.

Predictably, the most outspoken opponents of Proposition 47 have been law enforcement officials. The fear mongering started almost as soon as the ballot measure did with opponents stating that, “Proposition 47 is a dangerous and radical package of ill-conceived policies wrapped in a poorly drafted initiative, which will endanger Californians.”

Law enforcement officials tried to convince the citizens of California that Proposition 47 will lead to mass rapes and gun thefts, but this is simply not true. Several members of law enforcement actually came out in support of Proposition 47 and dismissed those concerns.

The legislative analyst’s estimate of net fiscal impact stated that the savings could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. This is money that will be redirected towards school truancy and dropout prevention, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and victim services.

There is an apparent mass awakening to the police state being built up in America and on Tuesday the people have let the would-be tyrants know that they will not stand for it.













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