District Attorneys from 41 California counties signed a petition last Thursday (May 13) challenging the new “sentence reduction” rules announced by the California Department of Corrections (CDCR) using the emergency supervision process and calling for the early release of 76,000 inmates.
California is made up of 58 counties, and the District Attorney is the highest position in the legal department of a county jurisdiction. More than two-thirds of the district attorneys have petitioned California Department of Corrections Commissioner Kathleen Allison to repeal the new Good Conduct Credit (GCC) rate.
The California Department of Corrections said it will increase the Good Conduct Credit rate for eligible inmates beginning May 1. The new “sentence reduction” rule will provide 76,000 inmates, including violent offenders, felons and lifers, with the opportunity to be released early from prison.
Under the new rule, more than 63,000 inmates convicted of violent crimes will be eligible for good conduct points, which could lead to an early release by reducing their sentences by one-third. Of the 63,000 inmates, nearly 20,000 are serving life sentences but are at risk of parole. Before the new rules took effect, good conduct points could only reduce sentences by up to one-fifth.
In addition, under the new rules, more than 10,000 inmates serving their second non-violent prison sentence can have their sentences reduced to one-half under California’s Three Strikes Law.
The petition, authored by Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, argues that the California Department of Corrections improperly used the emergency supervision process to propose the emergency rule and denied the public the right to comment on the rule.
The emergency rulemaking means that no public hearings or public comment will be held until after the California Department of Corrections submits permanent regulations for review.
In his petition, Schubert said, “The purpose of the ’emergency procedures’ outlined in California Penal Code Section 5058.3 is to immediately enforce regulations in emergency situations. However, the proposed regulations contained in the (California Department of Corrections) rulemaking (mitigation) document are provisions for earning credits that serve to substantially reduce the sentences of 76,000 violent and serious offenders and are not regulations that address the operational needs of the department or the circumstances of the department.” Therefore, she said, the California Department of Corrections needs to repeal these emergency regulations by law.
In response to the new regulations, California Department of Corrections officials said the purpose of early release is to reward those inmates who exercise self-restraint. But the news has caused shock in the community, and people have criticized the state’s leftist policies for condoning criminals and putting public safety at risk.
Earlier, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer also tweeted publicly that putting all prisoners back on the streets would be a dangerous move.
The petition was signed by district attorneys from across Northern and Southern California, including Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Imperial, Kern and San Diego counties. Kern County, San Diego County, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo County.
Also included are district attorneys from Marin County, Napa County, and Solano County in the Bay Area. The district attorneys from the Southern California District of Los Angeles and Northern California District of San Francisco, who advocated for reform, did not sign the petition.
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