Placer County Inmate Says He Likely Won't Reoffend After Prop. 47 Early Release
PLACER COUNTY (CBS13) — The voters have spoken and now former felons who have had their crimes reduced are being released from prisons.
Kevin Stovall is just one of many released from the Placer County Jail on Monday under Proposition 47. The measure approved by voters on Nov. 4 reduced his second-degree burglary conviction to a misdemeanor.
"I'm not real educated on the laws and stuff, I just know they let me go today, so I'm just going to try my hardest out there, you know, just hope everything works out," he said.
Dozens made their way to a courtroom for a judge to lower their crimes, making a number of once-felony convictions lesser and letting prisoners free with time served months before they were set to leave.
Bill Boyce with the Placer County Public Defender's officer says they have been looking over cases to see who can be released.
"What happened in there is what 58 percent of the people in California wanted to happen, so yes, justice was served today," he said.
Victims advocates groups say there is no structure in place to ensure criminals don't just return to a life of crime, and they worry about neighborhood safety.
Many point to statistics that show offenders are more likely to reoffend.
We asked Stovall whether after being granted his freedom on Monday if he would reoffend.
"No. I'm saying no," he said. "I can't promise anything, because it's a hard world out here, but I can probably bet on it that I'm not."
