State Senator Joel Anderson Formally Asks Governor to Veto Senate Bill 9

State Senator Joel Anderson, who represents La Mesa in the 36th District, on Wednesday sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown, asking him to veto Senate Bill 9, a measure that would allow judges to release murderers who were previously sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Below is a copy of the text of Anderson's letter:

August 22, 2012

The Honorable Jerry Brown
Governor of California
State Capitol, First Floor
Sacramento, CA  95814

Dear Governor,

I am writing to respectfully request your veto of Senate Bill 9, which would undercut both Proposition 115, the “Crime Victims Justice Act of 1990” and Proposition 21, the “Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act of 1998.”

As you know, Proposition 115 was approved by over 57% of the voters and Proposition 21 was approved by over 62% of the voters.  Both initiatives were supported by a long list of victims’ rights groups, law enforcement officials and peace officer rank and file organizations.

Both Propositions 115 and 21 allow, under very specific circumstances, the sentencing of 16 or 17 year-olds who commit heinous murders to life without parole.  This sentence is rarely used and can only be applied if the prosecutor, the judge and all 12 members of the jury concur that the murder was indeed heinous.

SB 9 will allow judges, years after-the-fact, to overturn the decision of juries and allow these murderers previously sentenced to life without parole to suddenly be released from prison.  This will encourage criminal drug gangs to increase their recruitment of 16 and 17 year-olds to commit heinous murders, with the lure that they could get paroled if ever caught.

These words from a widow of a murder victim exemplify what so many others have said in letters to our office opposing SB 9:

“My husband was held down on the floor of his business and brutally beaten with a metal pipe, receiving 25 skull fractures, requiring surgery, in a coma 41 days before he died.  You think these are innocent children?  One was 4 months short of 16, the other 2 months over 16.  They had planned this crime.  They stole 7 handguns and ran into the streets to commit more murders. Thank God they were caught in 45 minutes.”  – Maggie Elvey

Governor, please join me in support of the victims of violent crime – not their murderers.  Please veto Senate Bill 9.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Joel Anderson
Senator