Prop. 9's many victims

For more than two decades, California voters have approved by overwhelming margins pretty much any tough-on-crime initiative put before them. Operating on the mistaken premise that a generation of leniency had made the state a playground for killers, and reacting to the anger of heartbroken families of the latest high-profile crime victims, voters have opted for any ballot measure that would lock up more wrongdoers and throw away the key.

November 9, 2008