The Honorable Edmund “Jerry” Brown, Jr.
Governor of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 9 (Yee) Sentencing
Dear Governor Brown:
The California Catholic Conference supports SB 9 by Senator Yee, which would provide--after 15 years
or more of incarceration—an opportunity for the review and possible resentencing for imprisoned youth
currently serving “life without the possibility of parole” (LWOP).
Approximately 250 juveniles in California are serving LWOP for crimes they committed when they were
too young to live away from their parents, drive, make decisions related to their education or medical
treatment, vote, leave school or sign a contract. That sentence also means that they are often left
without access to program and rehabilitative services while in prison.
While the crimes may be the same as those committed by adults, these youthful offenders are not
adults and should not be automatically sentenced as adults. There needs to be recognition in which a
14 year-old today will be quite a different person when he or she is 40. It appropriate for us to reassess
those incarcerated for a crime committed as a juvenile to determine if they still poses any risk to public
safety.
The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) shows God’s love for us and models how we should love
one another. In spite of his younger son’s squandering of his inheritance, the father celebrates his
return home, recognizing that his son showed contrition and had changed his life. “The lost that have
been found are to be welcomed and celebrated, not resented and rejected.” (Responsibility,
Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice) U.S. Catholic
Bishops, 2000.
Please sign SB 9.
Yours sincerely,
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Typed name
Your address
OR
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11111 Alemany Drive
Mission Hills, CA 91345 (This is the school’s address.)
The Honorable Edmund “Jerry” Brown, Jr.
Governor of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
SB 9 (Yee) Juvenile sentencing
Dear Governor Brown:
I am writing this letter to pledge support for and urge your signature for S.B. 9, Youth Sentencing (Yee)
bill. As a student at Bishop Alemany High School in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, I hope you will
accept my letter on behalf of the thousands of students, teachers, and community leaders throughout
the state who have dedicated tireless hours to support this bill over the past six years.
In two sentences, Catholics believe S.B. 9 provides a stringent and sophisticated review to our
current LWOP law for juvenile offenders. Morally, we believe a 60-70 year existence without a
review is dehumanizing and cruel even to the most guilty of young criminals.
We understand the pressure you must be under from Victim’s Advocacy groups, the District Attorney’s
office, and the police unions from across the state. We agree wholeheartedly that a strict law
enforcement system is a necessity for California. Simply, we feel without this bill, young offenders will
spend 60-70 years in prison without incentive to live, and the culmination of that sentence is barbaric
and cruel. SB 9 gives youth sentenced to life a degree of dignity, motivation to reform, and protects
California by ensuring the population in prison is guilty. This bill gives those sentenced to life with
nothing more than a glimmer of hope and reason to live as opposed to decades of dehumanizing
conditions for inmates within our correctional system.
Up to 59% of juveniles sentenced to LWOP are first time offenders. In 70% of those cases, the codefendant was over eighteen at the time the crime was committed. These staggering statistics only
bolster the fact that in a survey of West Coast residents, 81% of voting citizens do not believe youth
should spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
We believe that this issue crosses the line in devaluing human life and fails miserably as a deterrent to
violent crime. Although we are sympathetic to the loss and suffering of victims and their families, our
justice system should never be based on revenge from a personal act of violence.
With your leadership to sign this bill into law, you will be contributing to a sensible and more effective
correctional measure for LWOP inmates and standing up for a penal system that protects human
dignity as opposed to allowing it to erode for political gain. Thank you, Governor Brown, for your time
and consideration for this legislation. Thank you for signing SB9 into LAW.
Sincerely,
Legible signature
Typed name
Your address
OR
Legible signature
Typed name
11111 Alemany Drive
Mission Hills, CA 91345 (This is the school’s address.)