Memo: California Prosecutors Must Do More to Protect Their Communities From Coronavirus: Policies & Polling
By Jody David Armour Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law, University of Southern California and Kyle C. Barry Senior Legal Counsel, The Justice Collaborative
Because prosecutors are elected and generally serve the public—and do not serve any particular government agency or law enforcement unit— the public’s views should provide guidance for the professional conduct and performance of prosecutors. We polled likely California voters and found strong bipartisan support for prosecutors working to release more people from incarceration in response to the coronavirus epidemic:
A majority of California voters support district attorneys reducing prison populations by agreeing to the early release of anyone who is within 12 months of their release date.
63% of voters, including 54% of Republicans, support district attorneys reducing the local jail population by agreeing to release anyone who is held pretrial and who does not pose an unreasonable safety risk to the community.
57% of voters, including 51% of Republicans, support district attorneys agreeing to hold all new state prison sentences if doing so wouldn’t pose an unreasonable safety risk.
68% of voters, including 62% of Republicans, support district attorneys agreeing to release all people serving a misdemeanor local jail sentence who are within six months of release.
61% of voters, including 51% of Republicans, support district attorneys agreeing to the release of all people held on probation and parole technical violation detainers or sentences.
