Wayne Hughes Jr. Lauds Proposition 47 California Win

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Wayne Hughes Jr., one of Proposition 47's earliest supporters, is exultant over Tuesday's resounding victory.  2,955,206 voters turned out to the polls to voice their support for criminal justice reform.

Proposition 47, a voter initiative for this week's mid-term elections easily passed with 58.5% voting YES on the California ballot. The act changes some of the lowest-level petty crimes from felony/wobblers to misdemeanors and directs financial savings into crime prevention and school programs. It maintains current law for sex offenders and anyone with prior convictions for murder, rape or child molestation.

"This is a brilliant victory on so many fronts for all Californians," says Hughes.  "It is a shining example of what we can do when we work together, left and right, for the common good.  I am particularly grateful to Newt Gingrich. John Burton and Rand Paul for lending their considerable support so together we could make a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of Californians."

Hughes passion is fueled by the facts that today; one in every 108 U.S. adults is incarcerated — almost 2.3 million of our 318 million adults. China — a country of 1.4 billion and no beacon of freedom — incarcerates about 1.7 million.

In California: 439 per 100,000 residents are locked up. Close to 135,000 individuals are in state prison, costing more than $62,000 each annually. The governor's proposed 2014-15 budget for prisons is $9.8 billion.

"I have always felt that over-incarceration was a fiscal and an ethical issue," says Hughes, "With Prop 47 passed, thousands of nonviolent prisoners will be eligible for release and be able to move on with their lives."  They will no longer face the punitive employment and housing consequences of felony convictions for petty crimes.  "It's been just a huge misallocation of resources," says Hughes. "$62,396 per prisoner each year but only $9,200 per K-12 student.  But today we start on a path of re-allocation: new opportunity for non-violent prisoners and investing the savings into the community we all belong to."

Women will benefit disproportionately since they generally do not have the violent criminal histories which will remain unaffected by Prop 47.  Non-violent female offenders will be able to rejoin their families rather than remain absent and in prison.  "This is another gain we reap - stabilizing communities – from a reduction in incarceration," says Hughes.

Four years ago, in 2010, Hughes met Chuck Colson, the Watergate conspirator, and was introduced to Colson's Christian prison ministry.  "When I went to the prisons and saw the fall-out of over incarceration, I realized that we can't just keep doing the same thing.  You can talk about the economics of it but at the end of the day, for me, it's a matter of heart.  We are a nation of opportunity, and that includes the opportunity of a second chance.   I have always felt that the American way leads right through the path of forgiveness.  I am immensely grateful that the passage of Proposition 47 will be a way forward on that path for so many."

Wayne Hughes Jr. is a former executive of Public Storage and founder of American Commercial Equities. He founded Serving California, a nonprofit that facilitates healing for military families, crime victims, and inmates looking to rebuild their lives. 

Hughes is available for interviews on Prop 47.  For interviews or more information, please contact:

Abel Jose Guillen
Hughes PR Industries
310-774-5402
[email protected]

Lesley Burbridge
Rogers & Cowan
310-854-8170
[email protected]

SOURCE Wayne Hughes Jr.