By Stephanie McNeal
FOX News
SACRAMENTO — California’s justice system has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, as the state struggles to deal with a prison-overcrowding crisis that has embroiled it in a long court fight.
Voters this fall, however, could approve big -- and some say “dangerous” -- changes to the state’s sentencing system, aimed in part at easing the overcrowding. On the state ballot is a proposal that would dramatically change how the state treats certain “nonserious, nonviolent” drug and property crimes, by downgrading them from felonies to misdemeanors.
The measure, known as Prop 47, also would allow those currently serving time for such offenses to apply for a reduced sentence, as long as they have no prior convictions for more serious crimes like murder, attempted murder or sexual offenses.
Full story: California voters weigh ‘radical’ changes to justice system as prisons fill up