District Attorney Christie Stanley denounced proposed cuts to the state’s prison system, contending that the release of up to 27,000 inmates would put the public’s safety in peril. Stanley said by reducing many nonviolent felony crimes to misdemeanors-as has been proposed by the governor and approved by the state Senate-“even the most obtuse of criminals will realize these crimes carry no real consequences.” However, the measure was bottled up in the State Assembly early this week. Santa Barbara Assemblymember Pedro Nava, who’s running for attorney general, was not available for comment but has been critical of this proposal in the past.
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Denise D’Sant Angelo, accused of grand theft for allegedly stealing $2,800 in donations to three nuns, is set to go to trial on 9/22. D’Sant Angelo had headed a group trying to help the Sisters of Bethany save their housing.