LA Is Learning Tough on Crime Is Tough to Undo

Ever since election day, the phones have been busy at the LA County Public Defender’s Office. The calls are flooding in from convicts looking to have their sentences reduced and -- ultimately -- to get released from jail under Proposition 47. The proposition reclassifies a number of non-violent and drug-related crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. The LA County District Attorney’s office says there are about 4,000 cases pending in Los Angeles courts alone that could be eligible for re-sentencing under the new law. But is LA’s criminal justice system prepared to carry out the will of California voters?