(CALMATTERS) – This week, lawmakers will consider several measures that have taken on newfound significance amid widespread protests over racism and calls for criminal justice reform.
And two proposed amendments to the California Constitution will appear on the November ballot if approved by lawmakers this week.
As CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall and Adria Watson report, the parole measure is promoted by 31-year-old Esteban Núñez, son of a former Speaker of the California Assembly, who was convicted for his role in the 2008 killing of 22-year-old college student Luis Santos.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011 reduced Núñez’s sentence from 16 years to seven, a decision that angered Santos’ parents and others who said Núñez’s political connections allowed him to circumvent justice.
Núñez now works for a criminal justice nonprofit, advocating for bills like ACA 6 to help give the incarcerated a second chance.
