Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Opinion: Date Rape Isn’t a Violent Crime in California. Seriously
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 6 years ago on
April 25, 2019

Share

Under current California law, more than 20 clearly violent crimes aren’t classified as violent, including rape of an unconscious person, trafficking a child for prostitution, assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence.


Opinion
Nina Salarno Besselman
Special to CALmatters
You can pimp a child for sex, beat a spouse or rape a young woman who passes out at a frat party, and it’s not considered a violent offense under state law, and that’s offensive.
You can pimp a child for sex, beat a spouse or rape a young woman who passes out at a frat party, and it’s not considered a violent offense under state law, and that’s offensive.
This was a dangerous flaw with Proposition 57, which California voters approved in 2016 by a wide margin, after being reassured by its proponents that the measure would apply only to non-violent offenders, and that only those inmates who posed no threat to public safety would be released from prison early.
What voters weren’t told is that the list of non-violent offenses includes many crimes that most people would agree are very serious and violent.
As a result, thousands of inmates with long records of violent and serious crimes have already been released, and thousands more are now eligible for early release, including child molesters and sex offenders. Seriously.

The Case Centered on an Inmate Named Gregory Gadlin

A superior court judge recently ruled that Proposition 57 does indeed apply to inmates convicted of violent sex offenses, including those serving time for crimes against children.
The case centered on an inmate named Gregory Gadlin, who is serving time for slashing his girlfriend’s face and hands with a butcher knife while on parole. His criminal portfolio includes joining in the gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl after promising to take her to the hospital after she was gang-raped earlier by another group, and the rape of his 11-year-old niece.
Gadlin’s sentencing brief goes on to warn that he “has repeatedly used force and violence on women and children throughout his lifetime.”
Nevertheless, he qualifies for early release under Proposition 57, because his crime of repeatedly stabbing and slashing his girlfriend is not considered violent under California law.
The proponents of Proposition 57 specifically promised voters that convicted violent sexual offenders like Gadlin would not be eligible for early release consideration because they were sexual offenders. The courts disagree and the proponents lied.
Thousands of other inmates with similar histories of violence and abuse are already back on the street because of Proposition 57.
These aren’t petty criminals who committed low-level victimless crimes, but serious and violent offenders whose crimes have done lasting physical and psychological damage to their victims and their victims’ families.

Raping an Unconscious Person Would Become a Violent Crime

An alliance of crime victims, law enforcement, district attorneys and other public safety leaders has qualified an initiative for the November 2020 ballot which would prevent the early release of sex offenders and other violent criminals.

Until California goes on record that assaulting an unconscious woman, beating up a spouse or sexually abusing a child are in fact unacceptably violent crimes, one wonders how serious the state is about stopping them.
Called the “Keep California Safe” initiative, the measure fixes the flaw in Proposition 57 by reclassifying several crimes that are not now considered violent under the law, and putting them where they belong: on the state’s list of violent crimes. As a result, inmates convicted of these crimes would not be eligible for early release and would instead be required to serve their full sentences, giving them more time in prison to hopefully turn their lives around by committing to counseling and rehabilitation.
Under the Keep California Safe initiative, raping an unconscious person would become a violent crime. So would trafficking a child for sex, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic abuse, assault on a peace officer, felony child abuse and 17 other crimes, which by any common sense measure should be classified as violent, but are not now considered so under the law.
Until California goes on record that assaulting an unconscious woman, beating up a spouse or sexually abusing a child are in fact unacceptably violent crimes, one wonders how serious the state is about stopping them.
Nina Salarno Besselman is president of Crime Victims United, and a former deputy district attorney in Sacramento County, nina@salarnolaw.com. She wrote this commentary for CALmatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.
[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

DON'T MISS

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

DON'T MISS

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

DON'T MISS

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

DON'T MISS

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

DON'T MISS

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

DON'T MISS

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

DON'T MISS

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

DON'T MISS

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

DON'T MISS

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

UP NEXT

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

UP NEXT

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

UP NEXT

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

UP NEXT

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

UP NEXT

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

UP NEXT

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

UP NEXT

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

UP NEXT

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

UP NEXT

Lyft Pays $2.1 Million to Settle Case Alleging the Ride-Hailing Service Deceived Drivers

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Shot to Death at NW Apartment Complex Is Identified

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

14 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

14 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

14 hours ago

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

14 hours ago

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

14 hours ago

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

15 hours ago

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

15 hours ago

Lyft Pays $2.1 Million to Settle Case Alleging the Ride-Hailing Service Deceived Drivers

16 hours ago

Fresno Man Shot to Death at NW Apartment Complex Is Identified

16 hours ago

Guns, Marijuana, Gambling: Fresno’s Smoke Shop Enforcement Issues $5M in Citations

16 hours ago

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

How often have you seen someone in a movie make a necklace of garlic to protect themselves from a vampire? Of course, vampires aren’t ...

27 mins ago

27 mins ago

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

2 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

13 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

14 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

14 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

A resident outside an apartment complex that was destroyed by Russian bombardment in Siversk, in Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
14 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

14 hours ago

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

14 hours ago

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

Search

Send this to a friend