Please sign-on to this letter to Santa Cruz County District Attorney Rosell, calling on him to minimize harm from the passage of Prop 36. Local jurisdictions and specifically the DA – an elected official – have power over how to charge and whether to offer alternatives to incarceration. The Santa Cruz County Public Defender’s Office is collecting data on Prop 36 cases in the county, and has noted so far that they’ve been prosecuted aggressively.
SURJ Santa Cruz County and MILPA, our accountability partner in Care Not Cages, actively opposed Prop 36, understanding that it offered empty promises by providing zero funding for mental health or substance use disorder treatment and by falling back on the failed mass incarceration model. It passed due to fear mongering, false promises and massive corporate funding. Now, it threatens our community with harsher sentencing and more incarceration.
Our sign-on letter asks the DA to use charging discretion wisely, to address the root causes of homelessness, drug addiction and theft, and to support pro-active alternatives to incarceration. Please sign-on here.
We’re aiming to gather 200+ signatures by April 10th (new date!)
Showing Up for Racial Justice-Santa Cruz County, CA 