People v. Davis
Annotate this CaseIn 2012 the voters adopted Proposition 36, the Three Strikes Reform Act, imposing life sentences for dangerous criminals whose most recent offense is classified as either a dangerous or a serious felony. A reduced sentence can be denied to an otherwise eligible inmate if the court determines that such lenience “would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety," Pen. Code, 1170.126 (f). The trial court declined to reduce Davis's 25-years-to-life sentence, concluding that his release after resentencing would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety, citing defendant’s continued refusal to acknowledge possessing the firearm, hostility, and inadequate plans if released. During the pendency of his appeal, the voters enacted Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and School Act, which established a procedure whereby specified classes of felons can petition to have their felony convictions reduced to misdemeanors and be resentenced accordingly. Proposition 47 contains a more restrictive definition of “unreasonable risk of danger to public safety” than used in Proposition 36 for “Three Strike” felons. The court of appeal affirmed, concluding that the Proposition 47 definition was not intended by the voters to displace the broader definition of the Three Strikes Reform Act already in use.
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