You Can Make a Difference

Dear friends,

The gloves have come off!

In July, California’s major law enforcement groups tried to get Proposition 5 —the largest sentencing and prison reform in U.S. history — thrown off the state ballot. But the California Supreme Court rejected their challenge, and affirmed that the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act will appear on the November state ballot as Prop. 5.

As you can see, opposition to Prop. 5 is mounting from some of the staunchest opponents of criminal justice reform in the state. We need your support to address the misrepresentations they’ve begun to spread about this urgent package of reforms. Please give to “Yes on 5” today and help us put commercials on TV in the final days of the campaign.

The 34 district attorneys and two former California governors (Wilson and Davis) involved in the suit all know that Prop. 5 has strong public support, so they tried to keep it away from voters. But their effort, built upon slick legal arguments that badly mischaracterized Prop. 5, has failed.

Now the state’s voters will decide whether to pass Prop. 5 and, with it, create new youth treatment programs, improve and expand treatment offered through the court system, and work to end the state’s prison overcrowding crisis.

This won’t be the last we hear from law enforcement groups. As a recent issue of California Political Week put it, “to top ranking officials from law enforcement, nothing is more important than the defeat of Prop. 5…” The California District Attorneys Association is heading up the fight, with support from associations of sheriffs and police chiefs.

We’re working hard to make sure that the “pro” voices are even louder. Our growing coalition of reform advocates includes the League of Women Voters, the Consumer Federation of California, the NAACP of California, the Latino Voters League and a wide range of youth advocates and treatment experts. And, hopefully, you!

Please make a contribution toward the “Yes on 5” campaign today. Help us stop the lies and broadcast the truth about treatment for nonviolent offenders. Please donate today to help put the truth about Prop. 5 on TV before November 4. With your help, we will make ourselves heard above our opponents’ fear-mongering — and win in November!

Sincerely,

Margaret Dooley-Sammuli
Deputy Campaign Manager, Yes on 5
Deputy State Director, Southern California
Drug Policy Alliance Network

P.S. Help us fight regressive law enforcement opposition and broadcast the truth about treatment for nonviolent offenders. Please support the “Yes on 5” campaign today.

Paid for by NORA Campaign -- Yes on 5, sponsored by Campaign for New Drug Policies and Drug Policy Alliance Network. / Major funding by George Soros and Bob Wilson / ID# 1302707 / 555 Capitol Mall, Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814