But this probably isn't the end. The proposition known as the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act imposes tough new penalties on juvenile criminals and increases penalties for gang-related crimes. It passed with 62 percent of the vote last November. The law was championed by former Gov. Pete Wilson and is part of a longtime effort to reform the juvenile justice system. For years, law enforcement and political leaders, victims' and children's advocacy groups have debated over how to best deal with juvenile crime.
Critics call the measure draconian.
The new law requires that anyone 14 or older who commits a violent sex crime or a special circumstance murder, including killing multiple victims or slaying someone during a robbery, must be tried and punished as an adult. California law, however, precludes anyone younger than 18 from getting the death penalty. In addition, Proposition 21 gives prosecutors discretion to try as adults minors who have committed other serious and violent felonies. Previously, Juvenile Court judges made that decision after conducting in-depth hearings into whether the child could be rehabilitated in the juvenile system. That's just the nature of being a prosecutor.