'A much needed relief for communities of color'; almost half are Hispanic
Gov. Jerry Brown then ordered the California Department of Justice to review marijuana-related sentences since 2018.
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Archive / Opinion
LOS ANGELES.- Close to 66,000 convictions by crimes related to marijuana, with a majority of latinos, were dismissed in compliance with the Proposition 64, which legalized the herb in 2016 in California, the district attorney of The Angels, Jackie lacey. This means that they eliminate the sentences of those who had been prosecuted before it was legalized Marijuana in the state.
A total of 62,000 convictions that have been granted in this measure were for crimes considered serious, and 4,000 per minor offences. Of the approximately 53,000 people benefited, about 45% are latin, 32 African Americans and 20 non-Hispanic whites.
“The reduction and elimination of tens of thousands of old sentences related to cannabis in Los Angeles County will carry A relief very necessary to communities of color, who suffered disproportionately from unfair consequences of the drug laws of our nation, ”said the prosecutor.
The judicial relief it was achieved jointly with the organization Code for America. “Today’s action completes our (program) pilot ‘California deletes my record’, through which we have helped reject Y close more of 85,000 convictions for marijuana throughout the state, ”he said Evonne Silva, senior director of the Code for America Criminal Justice Program.
The Proposition 64, known as Marijuana Legalization Initiative in California, it was approved by 57.13% of voters in November 2016, adding 7.97 million votes.
Following legalization, the law AB 1793 signed by then Governor Jerry Brown on September 30, 2018 he redesignated previous marijuana related convictions and ordered Justice Department Of California review sentences and forward the information to local prosecutors.
The deadline for this process to be completed in the 58 California County Courts is July 1, 2020.
Silva noted that as of today all counties in California have access to the technology called "Delete my record", a program developed by Code for America that can “in less than five minutes check 4,600 criminal records, evaluate your eligibility and generate a format for the Court. ”
The assemblyman Rob Bonta, proponent of AB 1793, noted that the new technology opens a path for delete criminal records that affect the lives of many people even after having served their sentences.
“Long after paying their debts to society, the people should not continue to face consequences collateral like being denied a job or one living place because they have an old sentence on their record, ”said Bonta.
