Proposition 57 dashes hopes for lifers and Three Strikers, turning cirrhosis into death sentence

by Julius ‘Kimya’ Humphrey Sr.

Gov. Brown’s Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016 was a sham that gave false hopes of freedom to thousands of juvenile offenders who have grown up – and are now adults – in California prisons and Three Strikers, who believed they would finally see their 20-, 30- and 40-year-old priors, which have kept them behind bars long after their current sentence has been completed, go away. But that’s not the reality.

Yes-on-Prop-57-poster-285x300, Proposition 57 dashes hopes for lifers and Three Strikers, turning cirrhosis into death sentence, Abolition Now! According to the Life Support Alliance, a newsletter printed in Rancho Cordova, Calif., new regulations implemented by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCr) under the law that was approved by California voters on Nov. 8, 2016 – also known as Proposition 57 – are not retroactive. Meaning for those who committed their crimes as juveniles and have already spent the last 10, 15 and 20 years incarcerated there will be no “second chance” as promised, because the new law doesn’t apply to those sentenced before the law was passed; it applies only to the juveniles convicted after Nov. 8, 2016.

The Life Support Alliance newsletter addressed the disappointment in their March 2017 newsletter. I personally am very disappointed. If applied to Three Strikers, there would have been some hope that I would be able to die at home surrounded by family, not locked away surrounded by concrete walls. You see, I’ve been diagnosed with Stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. And I believe that considering I’m 59 years old, a Black man and serving a life sentence under the Three Strikes law, I don’t matter.

The CDCr medical department has not started me on any treatment, knowing that even at my stage, I don’t have to die. Today, there are drugs like Harvoni and others that heal the liver. But in my case, if treatment is not provided for me within the next few months, I will be silently carried away to my final resting place – due to discriminatory laws and inadequate health care that is even harsher once confined in the California prison system.

For those who committed their crimes as juveniles and have already spent the last 10, 15 and 20 years incarcerated there will be no “second chance” as promised, because the new law doesn’t apply to those sentenced before the law was passed; it applies only to the juveniles convicted after Nov. 8, 2016.

“Violent Felony” is a crime or enhancement as defined in Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (c). “Primary Offense” means the single crime for which any sentencing court imposed the longest term of imprisonment excluding all enhancements, alternative sentences and consecutive sentences. It begs the question, how can Proposition 57 not impact the enhancements, sentences or term lengths of lifers and Three Strikers?

Is this being challenged by legal experts in court? And I’m curious to know, how does Gov. Brown feel about the hijacking of his law by CDCr after being passed by California voters? There is no benefit for those already in prison, who have suffered from the injustice of the Three Strikes Law. No second chance for the juveniles who have been raised by the parenting of a prison system that speaks about the importance of rehabilitation but refuses to see it in them.

My primary offense is Criminal Threat, §422 p.c., with a 12022(b)(1) enhancement. Criminal Threat is not defined as violent in Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (c); and if the new law applied to lifers and Three Strikers, my enhancements, consecutive sentences and the sentence that the court “stayed” would be excluded. I would only have to do the term sentenced for Criminal Threat.

As of now I’m currently serving five years plus 25 years to life. In truth, I’m being repunished for my prior convictions in 1977 and 1988. Priors that California law ruled too remote when committed more than 10 years before the current offense. It’s clear to see my priors were 38 and 27 years old when I was arrested for Criminal Threat back in 2015. But this is the reality of what thousands of Black men are constantly being subjected to due to the Three Strikes law, and now the new regulations that govern Proposition 57.

Is this being challenged by legal experts in court? And I’m curious to know, how does Gov. Brown feel about the hijacking of his law by CDCr after being passed by California voters? There is no benefit for those already in prison, who have suffered from the injustice of the Three Strikes Law.

I’m optimistic that Julie Piccolotti of “CHOOSE1” will resubmit her Three Strikes Reform Initiative or that “FACTS” will introduce reform that will amend the Three Striker law. Too many children have been raised without their father in their life, and that will not change until the law changes. If you have any information that brings hope to possible changes in the law, I ask that you share it with me.

Remember, I no longer fight only for my freedom, but also my right to live. My voice will only be heard through those like you. You are my hope for survival.

Thank you, and God Bless.

Send our brother some love and light: Julius “Kimya” Humphrey Sr., AZ-1582, CSP Solano, P.O. Box 4000, Vacaville, CA 95696-4000.