Criminal justice reforms had a mixed night Tuesday.
Voters chose to speed up the death penalty process in California, reinstate capital punishment in Nebraska and restart stalled executions Oklahoma — but also approved measures to reduce incarceration. Voters approved strengthening gun control in three out of four states where the issue was on the ballot, but rejected a plan to pay prisoners for forced labor in Colorado, even as they approved a reform of the bail system in New Mexico and sentencing guidelines for nonviolent offenders in California.
As Democrats suffered historic losses and stunning upsets in races for the presidency, Senate, House and state legislatures, ballot measures aimed at overhauling the criminal justice system — a traditionally liberal cause, but one that’s won recent bipartisan support — had both success and failure Tuesday.
Here’s the rundown:
The Death Penalty
The sentence is illegal in 19 states and the District of Columbia. In California, where two competing measures were on the ballot, voters rejected a proposal to eliminate the death penalty and instead supported a measure that would speed up the death penalty appeals process.
In Nebraska, locals voted to reinstate the death penalty, which had been repealed by the legislature in May 2015 with enough support to override a veto by Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.
And in Oklahoma, voters said they support amending the state’s constitution to enshrine the state’s power to impose capital punishment. While the death penalty is already legal in Oklahoma, executions were put on hold in October 2015 after the botched execution of Clayton Lockett the year before. There were 49 inmates on death row at the start of 2016. Three executions had been scheduled for last year, but they have not been carried out as the sentence and execution procedures undergo review.
Gun Control
Only 40 percent of gun sales in the U.S. are carried out after a background check. In Maine voters narrowly rejected a proposal to require background checks for gun sales or transfers by people who are not licensed firearms dealers.
In California, however, voters strongly backed a measure to require anyone buying ammunition to obtain a permit. It would also prohibit large-capacity magazines and remove an exemption for owners of such magazines from pre-2000, and it would strengthen courts’ ability to remove firearms.
In Nevada, a measure to require firearms transfers to go through licensed gun dealers for background checks narrowly won, 50.4 to 49.6 percent.
And in Washington, voters roundly supported a proposal to empower courts to issue extreme risk protection orders that would remove firearms from the home of someone who’s deemed a significant danger to himself or others.
Forced Labor
The issue of compensating prisoners for forced labor has recently garnered more attention from civil rights advocates and members of the media, who have explored how it can exploit prisoners who have no choice but to work. In Colorado, however, a proposal to amend the state constitution to remove a clause that allows for forced, unpaid labor by criminals — or “involuntary servitude,” the state defines it — fell 49.2 percent to 50.8 percent.
Sentencing Guidelines
California voted 63.6 percent to 36.4 percent to expand parole opportunities for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes, and to empower judges — not prosecutors — to decide when to try children as adults in court.
In New Mexico, 87.2 percent of voters approved a constitutional amendment that both allows judges to deny bail to defendants deemed especially dangerous, but also provides pretrial release to those who aren’t considered a threat but cannot afford bail.
And in Oklahoma, voters backed measures to reclassify certain drug possession and property crimes from felonies and misdemeanors, and to allow counties to put any money saved from not incarcerating those offenders toward drug treatment programs.
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Death Penalty, Gun Control Win Big in Ballot Measures originally appeared on usnews.com
