Political hopefuls and media, once again hyping a wave of hysteria over “crime,” have set their sights on repealing Proposition 57. The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act, better known as Prop 57, was passed by voters in 2016 to allow California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials to reduce prison populations by incentivizing them to earn credits (milestones) in educational and therapeutic programs that could be put towards earlier release dates. Those who claim that Prop 57 releases “violent felons,” including the Riverside County sheriff and other local elected officials, want to ignore my story and the many people like me. Prop 57 empowered me and many others to rebuild our lives and make meaningful contributions to our community.
Prop 57 not only reversed the warehousing of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian folks, but it also made it harder for minors to be tried as adults, which is crucial given the disproportionate number of young people from BIPOC communities affected by over-policing and austerity. In California, between 750 to 900 children are prosecuted every year in the adult criminal justice system. A felony conviction on a child’s record condemns them to a lifetime of hardship, including exclusion from resources that were already difficult to obtain. According to the National Center for Youth Law, “Black and Latino youth combined made up 58% of California’s juvenile population aged 10-17, yet they made up nearly 87% of all juvenile cases processed in California’s adult criminal system.” Convicting children as adults is just one of the many ways to oppress our communities.
Despite recent calls for harsher punishment and claims of rising crime rates, the evidence tells a different story. According to the San Diego Police Department's (SDPD) Yearly Crime Statistics Report for 2023, there has been an “overall decrease for the City of San Diego.” Murders, sexual assaults, non-fatal shootings, and gang crimes have decreased throughout the years. When announcing the report, both SDPD and Mayor Todd Gloria congratulated themselves on making “the violent crime rate…one of the lowest of major cities in the nation.” Many may find this hard to believe, considering the constant media coverage of thefts, burglaries, and the continuous plastering of smash and grabs on social media. While patting themselves on the back one day, law enforcement and politicians turn around the next to use these images to instill fear and gain support for their "tough on crime" campaigns to repeal laws that have benefitted Black, Brown, and Asian folks. Without a doubt, election seasons always come with an unmistakable narrative — we need to put our folks in cages because the streets aren’t safe.
I will be the first one to say that I have made mistakes, but it was rehabilitation and incentive programs like Prop 57 that helped me rebuild my life, not the fear of being forever locked in a cage. February 16, 2009, I was arrested and charged with first degree attempted murder and other weapons-related charges. Facing a possible 44-to-life maximum exposure, I accepted a plea deal to avoid trial and was convicted of a lesser charge of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. My attorney and I felt that taking the deal for the lesser charge would be the best option considering my extensive arrest history dating back to 1997. I was sentenced to 19 years and 4 months, and I was to serve 85% of that with “good behavior” (whatever that means). I was told I would not be released until August 2025. Having to serve what felt like a life sentence was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually defeating. My life is over, I remember thinking. As time went on I adjusted and got acclimated to life in the deserts of Imperial County, then transferred from institution to institution. My release date was pushed further and further down the calendar. Three months added here, another four months added there. Eventually my release date ended up being December 2026.
There wasn’t much to do inside. Boredom was a real close ally of mine. Going out for an hour and a half a day to the pull-up bars in the recreation yard was the highlight of my day. School and rehabilitation programs were not even on the radar for me. I was more concerned about what was going on in the prison, who did what, and when my package would arrive.
In late 2015, there was talk on the yard of a law that would allow folks with 85% to receive time reduction credits. They were just rumors, I thought, as rumors tend to go far and wide in prison and spread like wildfire. But months later, this law finally had a name to it: Prop 57. I told everyone I knew to go out and vote for this proposition, letting them know that here was my opportunity to come home early. Little did I know that this Prop 57 was more than just an opportunity to come home early. It was a life-changing policy.
To be eligible for time reduction credits under Prop 57, individuals must complete a variety of requirements, such as enrolling in and completing educational programs, obtaining a GED, attending college, passing classes, joining self-help classes, and more. The only available option without a waiting list for me at the time was to enroll in correspondence college courses. I started completing the assignments, initially with the sole intention and purpose of getting some time off and returning home early. However, I soon discovered the empowering nature of education and knowledge. I continued registering for classes every semester, no longer solely focused on earning time reduction credits. I was driven to learn, to feel empowered, and to share the knowledge I’d gained with whoever was willing to listen. Ultimately, I graduated with associate degrees in Sociology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Communications and Media Languages. Thanks to the early release credits granted to me under Prop 57, I was able to return home on December 26, 2021, five years earlier than originally expected.
Law enforcement officials and political hopefuls throughout the state have expressed concern that individuals released under Prop 57 have been contributing to a rise in crime rates in our communities. However, I can personally testify that since my early release under Prop 57, the only violation of the law that I’ve committed since my release is driving 68 mph on the freeway (who hasn’t?) when trying to return home after a long day. Since the age of 14, I’ve been in and out of incarceration, beginning with juvenile hall, and eventually prison. Between 14 and 39, I spent a total of 22 years behind bars, or 56% of my life — never staying out for more than 6 months at a time, never without probation or parole. This is the life that was interrupted by Prop 57. The difference from those early tours of the penal system and the last one is that I was never provided with an incentive to educate myself. Prop 57 exposed me to higher education, which in turn opened up even more opportunities instrumental to my success out here in the community.
Since my release, I have been employed full-time and am on track to graduate from San Diego State University this year. In the evenings, I attend my child’s softball games and cheer practices, actively participate in community engagement, assist community members in finding employment and educational opportunities, organize fundraisers for families and individuals in need of financial assistance, and more. I can confidently say that I am not the only individual who has returned home early from jail or prison who is making a positive impact in our communities. As Marcel McMillan, a current Mount Hope resident, put it: “Prop 57…gave me something to work towards…gave me the confidence to do something positive.” Marcel was sentenced to 12 years in CDCR and has been home now for 5 years. While incarcerated, he also took advantage of the new law and entered into an electrical program and gained an early release under the milestone credits awarded to him. “Post-incarceration I have been successful in gaining a career” and “able to be an advocate for change and what it looks like with support in our communities,” he said.
How many more folks locked up like we were will be denied the chance to better their lives if Prop 57 is repealed? It should have always been this way. But then state and local officials wouldn’t have cheap labor to fatten the pockets of shareholders who have everything to gain from a draconian punitive reality. Where is the outcry against the violence of a system that would rather put us in cages than give us the education, housing, and food we need to survive? When legislation benefits us too much, those in power seek to destroy it in an attempt to bring us back to their broken, racist, and greedy ways.
Don’t fall for the hysteria of “tough on crime” politicians and media. We need to rethink what police and prisons have done to our communities. We need to protect and fight to keep Prop 57 in place.
Lon Chhay is Co-Executive Director of Asian Solidarity Collective.