(Sacramento, CA) — The California Supreme Court says violent felons cannot be released early under Proposition 57. The decision Monday overturns a lower court ruling. In writing for the unanimous decision, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said there was a ‘distinction between violent and nonviolent felonies emphasized in the ballot materials.” She writes the language in Proposition 57 was ambiguous and that in such cases the court looked to the ballot materials to determine the intent of the proponents and the voters. The court concluded that the initiative did not require the early release of violent felons.
