Charles Manson will not be taping any new TV interviews any time soon.
Rejecting the notion of allowing criminals to become celebrities, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation Sunday that would have allowed reporters the right to interview specific state convicts.
"Giving criminals celebrity status through repeated appearances on television will glorify their crimes and hurt victims and their families," Brown wrote in his veto message for Assembly Bill 1270.
California's prison system currently permits the media to conduct random interviews with inmates, but not face-to-face recording sessions with Manson or any other convict that reporters cite by name.
AB 1270, by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, would have required prison staff to seek the consent of inmates before such interviews and to contact victims who desire notification.
"The cost of implementing and monitoring this expansive new level of access should not be imposed at a time when prison budgets are being cut," Brown's veto message said.
"I agree that too little media access may be harmful, but too much can be as well," said Brown, ending his veto message with a five-word kicker: "This bill gives too much."
– Jim Sanders
CAMPAIGN WATCH
Civil rights attorney Molly Munger said Sunday that she is optimistic about Proposition 38 despite polls showing it trailing badly. Munger, who has already poured close to $28 million into the campaign, said she's feeling good about a growing number of endorsements. "When you're in the campaign," she said, "you're feeling very buoyed by it all."
– Torey Van Oot
WORTH REPEATING
"This is the place to be, regardless of Sunday football."
KEVIN JOHNSON, Sacramento mayor, opening Sunday's candidate forum at Sacramento State with a message about the importance of being an informed voter
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