Proposition 21

By Michael L. Ramsey

California voters approved Proposition 21, which provides prosecutors with the ability to file cases in adult court against juvenile's accused of committing specific felonies.

There are times when having a fitness hearing is not useful and resources as the juvenile's crime and/or past record is such that adult court and adult punishment is the only reasonable public safety option. Additionally, if the crime committed by a juvenile is egregious enough to warrant a life without possibility of parole sentence, such as a special circumstance murder, then public safety demands such a sentence . The 'safety valve' of a possibility of parole already exists in the governor's right of commutation, which should not be exercised except in the most unusual of circumstances.