Free Republic

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A suspect arrested in connection with last weekend’s mass shooting outside bars in Sacramento served less than half his 10-year sentence because of voter-approved changes to state law that lessened the punishment for his felony convictions and provided a chance for earlier release. Smiley Allen Martin was freed in February after serving time for punching a girlfriend, dragging her from her home by her hair and whipping her with a belt, according to court and prison records. Those count as nonviolent offenses under California law

Adrian Gonzalez was given a maximum sentence in jail after admitting to all charges in connection to the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 8-year-old Maddie Middleton more than five years ago. Gonzalez, who is now 21, could be released from the juvenile justice system when he turns 25. Gonzalez entered his guilty plea in mid-April after his case was handed down to juvenile court after a state supreme court decision earlier this year upheld a state law preventing anyone under 16 from being tried as an adult. Gonzalez was 15 when he murdered his young neighbor, just three months shy...

With 60 days to election day, Rep. Devin Nunes (R–Tulare) still hasn’t uttered the name of his opponent on television. Instead, his barrage of television advertising – eclipsing hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign spending – has turned to another set of issues on the Nov. 3 ballot: a ballot initiative. Two new ads hitting Valley airwaves on Thursday from Nunes are highlighting the hangover effect of a pair of California decriminalization measures – 2014’s Proposition 47 and 2016’s Proposition 57. Prop. 47 notoriously reclassified a bevy of felonies – deemed to be “nonviolent offenses” – as misdemeanors, allowing...

Prop. 57, approved by voters in 2016, promised to reduce the state's overcrowded prisons by expanding parole eligibility for nonviolent criminals, and by encouraging inmates to take part in rehabilitation, therapy, and vocational programs. The cases include those of Alfredo "Freddy" Casillas, who took part in the murder of a rival gang member in Burbank, and Luis Steven Flores, who went to prison for assault with a deadly weapon with a semi-automatic firearm, and served time for battery on a peace officer, as well as battery on another inmate. They, along with other prisoners with violent histories, became eligible for...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to borrow $15 billion to deal with the state's budget deficit is getting broad but often reluctant support from many of California's major newspapers.</p> <p>"It's the least damaging way for California to begin to emerge from its fiscal abyss," said the Los Angeles Times in endorsing Proposition 57, the measure on Tuesday's ballot authorizing sale of the bonds.</p>

<p>BURLINGAME, Calif. (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to rally Republicans around his controversial ballot initiative while also giving conservatives the tough talk against gay marriage that they had been seeking.</p> <p>Schwarzenegger brought cheering activists at the state Republican convention to their feet Friday night with his announcement that he had directed Attorney General Bill Lockyer to take immediate legal steps to stop San Francisco from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.</p>