Reform California’s Sentencing Guidelines

Can you spare some time in the next couple of weeks to collect signatures for a
ballot initiative that would result in the biggest prison/sentencing reform in
American history? Drug Policy Alliance Network (DPA’s lobbying arm) has secured
funding to pay signature gatherers to help The Nonviolent Offender
Rehabilitation Act (NORA) get on the ballot in California: http://dpa.convio.net/site/R?i=6bC5XKFlf1kYm_3Sxoo_OA..

If you can help, please email me at mailto:nora@drugpolicy.org?subject=Signature%20Gathering
with some information about yourself (name, phone and city of residence), so
that we can put you in touch with your local signature gathering campaign
leader.

We must collect over 430,000 valid signatures by the end of April to guarantee
that NORA appears on the state ballot in November. It is essential that we reach
this goal, so that voters have the opportunity to support NORA–and historic
drug policy reform–at the ballot box.

Thanks to generous donations by visionary leaders of reform, we have been able
to build a strong paid signature gathering campaign throughout the state and we
are confident that we can reach the April deadline. But success isn’t
guaranteed.

Will you help by carrying a petition for the country’s most significant prison
reform ever?

To be a paid petitioner ($1/signature), all you need is to be registered to vote
in California and be willing to collect signatures from friends, family,
coworkers, and others to get NORA on the ballot.

NORA would set a new national model for prison and sentencing reform by
stabilizing and expanding funding for treatment and rehabilitation. NORA’s
reforms will break California’s dysfunctional cycle of prison, parole and return
to prison for nonviolent prisoners and parolees. Importantly, NORA will also
fund youth prevention education and treatment and help support at-risk kids so
that they don’t end up in the criminal justice system as adults.

Help make this groundbreaking reform a reality! Start by sending me an email at
mailto:nora@drugpolicy.org?subject=Signature%20Gathering

Sincerely,

Margaret Dooley-Sammuli
Regional Director (interim), Southern California
Drug Policy Alliance Network

NORA BACKGROUND

The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA), filed in California by the
Drug Policy Alliance Network, would dramatically increase annual state funding
for effective, individualized drug treatment and rehabilitation for tens of
thousands of people arrested for nonviolent offenses. NORA also requires the
prison system to make a major commitment to rehabilitation programs for people
inside and outside the prisons.

By stabilizing funding for, and expanding access to, treatment and
rehabilitative services, NORA will dramatically reduce the prison population,
while allowing our criminal justice system to focus on public safety, not
punishing people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. We believe that the
changes proposed in the initiative will provide a model for reform nationally.

Though NORA might sound a lot like DPAN’s successful Prop. 36  program (see
http://dpa.convio.net/site/R?i=L0YrpdPqyqhf0zGHnG1zRQ.. ) , it is much broader.
NORA’s reforms will break the cycle of prison, parole and return to prison for
nonviolent prisoners and parolees.

Under NORA, nonviolent parolees all get rehabilitation services to give them a
better chance at a successful life after prison, and they cannot be returned to
prison for minor violations of parole. This is a major change in policy that
will reduce the problem of over-incarceration of nonviolent offenders, with big
financial savings as well.

Years of research, experience and insight went into the drafting of NORA. DPAN
thanks the many individuals and agencies who collaborated with us on its
creation, particularly the Campaign for New Drug Policies, co-sponsor of the
measure with DPAN, and we encourage all of our members to learn about and
support the measure.

Learn more: http://dpa.convio.net/site/R?i=TJ572A5X5IDG8AZH-Nqbdg..

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