A statute that would prohibit convicted murderers
from earning conduct credits to reduce their sentences and forbid anyone convicted
of murdering a peace officer from being paroled.
Background:
In California law, there are two kinds of
murder: First degree murder, in which the crime is deemed to have been premeditated
or to have occurred in the course of commission of a certain crime, and second-degree
murder - basically everything else. Under state law, only those convicted of first-degree
murder are eligible to receive the severest penalties - life without possibility
of parole or, in cases with special circumstances, death. Current law provides that
the penalty for second-degree murder of a peace officer - that is, non-premeditated
murder - is punishable by anywhere from 25 years to life in prison. Victims rights
organizations and those representing peace officers have contended that, with good-time
credits, those who kill police officers could serve significantly less than the 25
year minimum. Legislation changing this law, Assembly Bill 466, by Assemblyman Rod
Pacheco, proposed changing this law to make such second-degree murder of a peace
officer punishable by life without parole. It also eliminates any good time provisions
for those convicted of murder who receive less than a life sentence. Although the
measure was approved by both houses of the Legislature and signed by Governor Pete
Wilson, state law requires that significant changes in this type of penalty be ratified
by the voters before becoming law.
Proposal:
Proposition 222 essentially creates a new
crime - aggravated second-degree murder of a peace officer - and fixes the penalty
as life without the possibility of parole. The measure also eliminates a duplicative
provision in the Penal Code, and provides that no person convicted of murder is eligible
to receive credits that reduce the time he or she spends in state prison. The legislative
analyst estimates that the fiscal impact of this proposition would probably be minor.
Arguments for:
Proponents include the bill's author, Assemblyman
Pacheco, as well as Governor Pete Wilson and most of the organizations representing
both labor and management in the area of law enforcement. They argue Proposition
222 helps keep violent cop killers off the streets by closing a loophole in California
law that now allows those who kill police to be released early on parole. The measure,
they say, will prevent criminals currently serving time for murder from manipulating
the work credit system and require them to serve their entire prison sentence. The
effect, they argue, is to guarantee that criminals convicted of murdering a peace
officer will not be released on parole.
Arguments against:
No opposing arguments were submitted to the
Secretary of State. However, legislative opponents to Pacheco's bill included the
American Civil Liberties Union, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, and the
California Public Defenders Association. They argued such sentence enhancements have
little impact on crime, and that the provision is meaningless, since those convicted
of second-degree murder of a peace officer are seldom paroled early.
--- Article by Tippy Young
PROP. 222
