66,000 marijuana convictions were just dismissed in Los Angeles County
This week, 66,000 marijuana convictions in Los Angeles County — some dating back to 1961 — were dismissed.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced on Thursday that she filed a motion asking a Superior Court judge to erase 62,000 felony and 4,000 misdemeanor convictions, and the order was signed on Tuesday.
With this move, 22,000 people no longer have felonies on their record in California, while 15,000 now don't have a criminal record at all, the Los Angeles Times reports. This affects 53,000 people — 45 percent are Latino, 32 percent are black, and 20 percent are white. "What this does is correct that inequality of the past," Lacey told the Times. "It gives them a start, a new start."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In 2016, California voters passed Proposition 64, which legalized possession and the purchase of up to an ounce of marijuana, plus lets people grow up to six plants for personal consumption.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Samarkand travel guide: the cultural heart of Uzbekistan
The Week Recommends The mesmerising ancient city blends old and new
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published
-
A 'golden age' of luxury train travel
The Week Recommends Plush new sleeper trains are cropping up across Europe from Norway to Italy
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Nigel Hamilton's 6 inspirational books for fellow writers
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by John Banville, Ann Patchett, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published