California families urge changes to Prop 57 during rally at State Capitol
SACRAMENTO (KFSN) -- Families from across California, including several from the Central Valley, gathered at the State Capitol on Thursday to call for changes to Proposition 57, arguing the law places too much emphasis on rehabilitation and not enough on accountability for violent juvenile offenders.
The demonstration brought together parents and relatives who say they lost loved ones to crimes committed by teenagers. Many shared personal stories as they urged lawmakers to reform the voter-approved measure.
"Andres was killed by a 17-year-old," one speaker told the crowd.
"This is my son. His name is Lorenzo Sanchez. His life was taken away in Hanford," another said.
"Premeditated, unprovoked, callously," a third speaker said while describing the circumstances of a loved one's death.
Proposition 57 gives judges the authority to determine whether a juvenile offender can be rehabilitated before deciding whether to transfer the case to adult criminal court. Prosecutors must persuade a judge that a juvenile should face adult charges.
Supporters of the law have argued that rehabilitation improves public safety and helps reduce overcrowding in state prisons. Thursday's demonstrators, however, said the system often fails victims and their families.
"This not only leaves children like ours, whose lives were taken, vulnerable, but it actually makes the children who are committing these crimes more vulnerable to systemic failures in the future, and to reoffending," said Debra Rush, whose daughter was killed by a youth offender.
Among those attending was Stephen Quick, whose son Caleb Quick was killed in a shooting in Clovis last year.
"The justice scale, the fairness, is not there," Quick said.
Two teenagers have been charged in Caleb Quick's death. One suspect has already been ordered to remain in the juvenile justice system rather than be transferred to adult court.
Under Proposition 57, even the maximum juvenile sentence would allow the young woman to be held only until age 25. Afterward, she would be released and her record would be sealed.
"You can't really call that rehabilitation. There's some time element needed for that," Quick said.
The rally drew support from several lawmakers, including Assemblyman David Tangipa and Sen. Shannon Grove, who invited demonstrators inside the Capitol. Assemblyman Tom Lackey of Southern California also joined attendees during the event.
"All we ask for is some semblance of balance, and we just don't have it," Lackey said.
Lackey praised families for continuing to advocate despite their losses.
"It takes guts to do exactly what you guys are doing today," he said.
The push for reform comes as legal proceedings continue in the Quick case. Closing arguments in the trial of one of the suspects are scheduled for Monday, while a transfer hearing for the alleged shooter is set for September.
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