Prison Reformers
Support Prop. 36 Treatment
On March 28, over
200 prison reform advocates from
around the state, including Prop.
36 participants and graduates, gathered
in Sacramento to call for continued
support for California’s treatment-instead-of-incarceration
law. [Link to page with more info
and pix]
The Coalition for
Effective Public Safety (CEPS)
and Californians United for a Responsible
Budget (CURB),
representing over 40 organizations
throughout California, amassed at
the Capitol Building on March 28,
2007. The group—many of whom
were teenagers organizing to fight
against life-without-parole sentencing
for youth—called on legislators
to invest more in alternatives to
incarceration rather than further
expanding the prison system.
Lou Martinez,
a Prop. 36 graduate and now a certified
drug and alcohol counselor in Sacramento,
spoke about the importance of treatment
for himself, his wife and children,
and for the 36,000 people that enter
the program each year. Like many
he cycled in and out of the criminal
justice system for years and was
never offered substance abuse treatment
until California voters passed Prop.
36. Since he graduated in 2004,
he has rebuilt his life and is working
towards a degree in social work.
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