California Penal Reform and the Violent Criminals It Let Loose | RealClearInvestigations

Smiley Martin, a career criminal released as a "nonviolent offender" under California's Proposition 57.

• He went on to reoffend – violently and in a big way, in the worst mass shooting in the state capital's history. - Ana Kasparian

Smiley Martin should have been behind bars.

• A career criminal with a long rap sheet involving firearms, he was given a 10-year sentence in 2018 for punching, dragging and severely beating his girlfriend with a belt. 
• In prison, Martin was found guilty of beating another inmate and engaging in other criminal activity. 

Nevertheless, he was freed just four years later, thanks to a plea deal that categorized him as a “nonviolent offender” and a California ballot measure that sharply reduced sentences for “good behavior.”

Just two months after his release, Martin and several accomplices, including his brother, were arrested for carrying out the worst mass shooting in Sacramento’s history – leaving six dead and 12 others injured on April 3, 2022...