author: Skinner
co-author: Anderson
The average California prison is currently 30% over capacity, leading to inhumane or poor living conditions. The prison population costs taxpayers an average of $70,836 per inmate, and many incarcerated individuals have not been sentenced fairly or equitably. SCR 48 gives judges and jurors more leeway to deliver a sentence that is appropriate for the crime committed, rather than requiring those who committed small crimes to serve unnecessarily long jail times. (This bill is now law.)