PDF Format – 1999 Voters Guide

Side Bars – Who We Are – The Name – Christian, not Conservative – A 19th Century Christian Theologian’s Comments on Secular Conservatism – Crime and Restitution – Juries: Past and Present – The Notorious Ox and Safety – Self-Incrimination and the Bible – Judges versus Computers – Open Pits and Paying Your Own Way

Ballot Recommendations Summary Measure 68 Measure 69 Measure 70 Measure 71 Measure 72 Measure 73 Measure 74 Measure 75 Measure 76

Measure 74
Amends Constitution: Requires terms of imprisonment announced in court be fully served, with some exceptions.

EXPLANATION:
This measure would eliminate most reductions in prison terms based on good conduct or other reasons unless the judge who originally imposed the sentence specifically authorizes the reduction.

RECOMMENDATION:
YES.

While our prison system is not Biblical, to have judges make decisions about the punishment of criminals is Biblical (see Exodus 18:21,22; Deut. 1:15-17; 16:18). Judges, not bureaucrats and prison directors, should be responsible for sentencing, with certitude, those guilty of crimes. If a prison director can modify a judge’s original sentence, the judge who sentences a man has no degree of certainty that the sentence will be fully served. This is an unbiblical erosion of judicial authority, which this measure seeks to remedy. Today’s early release due to overcrowding has put many a person and property at risk.

This voters' guide produced by Parents Education Association, PAC.