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Alba Rocha
English 123
Prof. Flores
Fall 2015
Research Proposal

Introduction:
The United States of America holds the record for the highest incarceration
rate in the world, this is in part to the War on Drugs, declared by President Nixon in the
1970s, where he established that any offense that was drug related would be punish as a crime
with harsh consequences. Due to the high levels of incarceration in the United States, specifically
in California, there is a need to revise sentencing laws and alternatives programs is an obligation.
Different experts in the field of criminal justice have proposed diverse alternatives for low level
offender such as community service, rehabilitation, counseling, and probation to reduce
overpopulations in prisons. Due to the high cost of locking people up, Californias experts
came to conclusion that during the fiscal year 2014-2015 California corrections use 9% of the
states budget in comparison to 3 % in 1970 (Martin & Grattet). In average it cost the State of
California $47,102 per year to house an inmate according to research done 2008-2009 by the
Legislative Analyst Office in Sacramento. In response to this amounts, a need to revise the
harshness of the Three Strikes Law had been proposed. Proposition 47 came in response to
those who were requesting a less cruel punishment for low level offenders, however, change in

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sentencing for drug offenders does not help the drug abusers because they are not being forced
to participate in programs such as rehabilitation (Berberian Marin County District Attorney).

History:
1970 was an era of drugs and an effort to reduce crime and the misuse of
drugs, drug-related offenses were punish as crimes In 1971 President Nixon declares war on
drugs, stating that drugs was the enemy of the Americans (Benson 2015).. During this time the
proposed law for harsh sentence came into place with the enactment of the Three Strikes Law
in 1994. The Three Strikes Law required a defendant convicted of any new felony, having
suffered one prior conviction of a serious felony to be sentenced to state prison for twice the term
otherwise provided for the crime, (Couzens 2015). Advocates for criminals believe that The
Three Strikes Law, is the harshest sentencing law in the United States (Peak 2015). With this
law the population in prisons rise for low level offenses, and therefore the amount of money to
keep this prisoners in jail increase. In November 2012, Californias voters approved proposition
36 which substantially amended the law with two provisions:
1. A third strike offender sentencing was changed from 25 years to life in
prison if the new felony was a serious or violent act.
2. If the felon is serving sentence for a third strike violation he/she may
petition the court for reduction of their term to a second strike sentence if
qualified by the new sentencing law.
In 2014 a new change in the three strikes law was approved by California voters under
proposition 47. Proposition 47 main purpose was to reduce Californias prison population by
reducing the punishment for crimes such as petty theft and drug possession (Hansen 2015). After

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proposition 47 many drug offenders were not being arrested due to the amount of time it took
police officers to book, and the amount of time they would spend in jail. A citation was issued for
this time of offenders due to the overcrowding of prisons in California (Hansen 2015).
Im starting with the history of the war on drugs established in 1971, the
reason being is because due to this problem, the start of mass incarceration for drug related
crimes, was originated and therefore lead to different changes in the laws up to today. Is it
important to emphasize just how we got to the problem of over incarceration for petty theft due
to the high level of drug related offenses and how California is trying to find ways to modify
laws already established like the Three Strikes Law. Would the different changes done so far,
such as proposition 36 or proposition 47, change the future of CA prisons? I need to research
exactly who originally requested the changes and modifications to be done in the laws. What was
causing CA to look bad in terms of having the highest % of incarceration in the United States?
Key Names/ People/ Events:
Three Strikes Law- Enacted in 1994.
Proposition 36- Change in the three strikes law that required a defendant to have a serious or
violent offense in order to get 25 years to life in prison.
Michael Vitiello- Professor of law at McGeorge School of Law in California
War on Drugs Declared- 1971 by President Nixon.
Proposition 47: Reduced punishment for crimes such as petty theft and drug possessions
November 2015.
Working Thesis: I will argue that the changes made

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Solutions:
1.

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"EDITORIAL: Prop. 47 about lawmakers' lack of courage." Bakersfield Californian, The (CA)
15 Oct. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Hansen, Megan. "In Marin, Proposition 47 having little effect on jail population." Marin
Independent Journal (CA) 03 Mar. 2015: Newspaper Source. Web. 26 Sept. 2015
"The 2015-16 Budget: Implementation of Proposition 47." The 2015-16 Budget: Implementation
of Proposition 47. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.