Grocery stores are pushing California to be tougher on crime. Here's why

In 2003, Brian Beinlich stood before a judge in an Orange County courtroom, barely comprehending what had happened.

The judge had just told Beinlich he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences in prison. He would not be eligible for parole for 81 years. His crime? Stealing two bottles of Hennessy from a Costco in Fountain Valley, Calif., and waving a box cutter at the security guards who chased him down.

A wave of criminal justice reforms in California in recent years sought to ease thousands of harsh sentences like the one Beinlich received, reduce the state's bloated prison populations and create more opportunities for parole and rehabilitation. But if several large grocery store chains have their way, a measure on the ballot this fall will roll back some of these reforms, increasing penalties for shoplifting and making it harder for those convicted of certain nonviolent property and drug crimes to get early parole.

While Proposition 20 was launched