District attorneys from across California are pushing back against their state’s effort to release 76,000 criminals back on to the streets.
“Allowing the early release of the most dangerous criminals, shortening sentences as much as 50%, impacts crime victims and creates a serious public safety risk,” Sacramento DA Anne Marie Schubert said in a statement.
The district attorney accused the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of using a “claim of emergency” to release “some of California’s most violent criminals.
Schubert, alongside 40 other district attorneys, signed a petition to cancel the releases, suggesting a more transparent process going forward.
“This petition asks CDCR to repeal these regulations, begin the process anew, and allow for transparency and public input,” the statement read. “Victims, their families, and all Californians deserve a fair and honest debate about the wisdom of such drastic regulations.”
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The petition comes just weeks after the CDCR announced the decision to release 76,000 criminals (of which more than 63,000 inmates were convicted of violent crimes and 20,000 are serving life sentences) hastily and without any community notice.
CDCR spokeswoman Dana Simas defended the decision to release inmates who regularly exhibit good behavior and said it would be months or years before any inmates are actually released.
“The goal is to increase incentives for the incarcerated population to practice good behavior and follow the rules while serving their time, and participate in rehabilitative and educational programs, which will lead to safer prisons,” she said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Additionally, these changes would help to reduce the prison population by allowing incarcerated persons to earn their way home sooner.”
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The petition is the first step in a process before the courts can consider the legality of the regulation and subsequent release.
A judge could potentially dismiss the regulations and order the CDCR to pass them in “the traditional manner, requiring the State’s Office of Administrative Law to provide greater transparency and public input.”
It is unclear if the legal challenge could ultimately prevent the release of the inmates.
