Chesa Boudin became district attorney to reform the criminal justice system. Is he the scapegoat for the city’s woes?
With votes on Propositions 20 and 25, California shows its thinking on punishment and bail.
The fates of Prop. 20 and Prop. 25 may signal the extent to which Californians support reform — or favor reversing it.
A recently signed bill was supposed to end the tyranny of money bail over low-income people in California’s jails. But critics say it is an example of good intentions becoming bad law.
A UCLA report says the state’s money bail system takes “tens of millions of dollars annually in cash and assets from some of L.A.’s most economically vulnerable persons, families and communities.”
Co-published by The American Prospect
The consensus among policy experts remains: Something should be done about California’s money-bail system, which most affects the poor. But the bail-bond industry — and politics — continues to be an obstacle.