Still a Risk,
Stay in Prison
If someone is still a danger to other people, they should remain in prison. That is true for the person who killed my sister Polly, and for anyone else.
He is on death row, and I oppose the death penalty. That does not mean I think he should be released. I don’t.
The death penalty doesn't actually serve victims. Executing someone as a substitute for real care, and calling that justice, is an utter failure of the system. California spends vastly more (some estimates say $150m per year) maintaining the death penalty than it would imprisoning people for life. Those resources should support survivors directly: counseling, medical care, housing stability, financial assistance, and community-based violence prevention.
I want Governor Newsom to commute all death sentences in California to Life Without Parole (LWOP). It's a step toward a more just system.
-
LWOP means someone is sent to die in prison, no matter what change or transformation may be possible. I believe that, decades into a sentence, people should have a real chance to show who they are now. That does NOT mean automatic release. It means a serious review of whether they are still a danger.
If someone is still a risk, they should stay in prison. If they have not taken responsibility, have not changed, or cannot safely return to the community, they should stay in prison.
-
while they do the work of becoming safe, so they can reintegrate into society. Many people haven't done that work yet, and they obviously shouldn't come home. But here's the thing: many people with life sentences HAVE done the hard work of transforming themselves, or they've simply grown out of the criminal mindset that was present for them in their youth.
These are people who are ready to come home.
-
I would never want anyone who is dangerous to be released. What he did was horrific. The kind of accountability it would take to ever overcome that is enormous. He hasn't done that work, and I don't believe he ever will.
-
that ending the death penalty and LWOP means dangerous people will be released. But that is not what I am arguing for. I am advocating for a system that takes public safety seriously, and recognizes that people should be judged by whether they are still a risk, rather than being condemned to die in prison forever.
Someone who is still a risk should stay in prison, period.
The specific policy work I organize for:
