Source: ACSOL The Assembly Public Safety Committee today approved Assembly Bill 47, which if passed, would exclude many people convicted of a sex offense from the Elderly Parole Program. That program currently allows individuals who have spent at least 20 consecutive years in prison and are at least 50 years old an opportunity to be considered for release from prison. No one is automatically released from prison because of the Elderly Parole program. Instead, they must participate in a hearing led by representatives from CDCR. “More than 20 people testified…
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Action Alert for CA! Call, then Show Up to Committee April 8 Hearing on Senate Bill 286 That Prohibits Early Release
Source: ACSOL The CA Senate Public Safety Committee is scheduled to conduct a hearing April 8 regarding two bad bills the same day: Senate Bill 680 (see our action alert on 3/28 that we hope you have already called/written about) Senate bill 286 – Call ASAP starting April 1! If passed, Senate Bill 286 would prohibit individuals convicted of several offenses from release from early release from custody due to their age. In order to be considered for release, an individual must have served at least 20 years in custody…
Read MoreCA: Lawmakers using Senate Bill 286 for pushing to disqualify aging violent sex offenders from early parole
Source: dailybreeze.com 3/30/25 ‘Mary Bella’s Law ensures that rapists and child molesters serve their full sentences, no matter their age,’ said state Sen. Brian Jones A California lawmaker has proposed legislation, named after two Riverside County child rape victims, that would disqualify convicted killers and violent sex offenders from a program that allows for the early release of aging prisoners who have served lengthy sentences. Mary Bella’s Law, introduced as Senate Bill 286 by Sen. Brian Jones, R-San Diego, goes before the Senate Public Safety Committee for consideration on April 8.…
Read MoreSenator Coons, Representative Hunt, colleagues urge the implementation of reforms aligning with their bipartisan, bicameral Safer Supervision Act
Source: senate.gov 3/7/25 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Representative Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) and a bipartisan, bicameral group of colleagues in a new letter applauded and urged finalization of a proposal by the United States Sentencing Commission to improve the federal supervised release system in ways that align with their bipartisan, bicameral Safer Supervision Act. In addition to Senator Coons and Rep. Hunt, the letter was signed by bill cosponsors Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), U.S. Representative Barry Moore (R-Ala.), and…
Read MoreLA: Louisiana Senate committee passes bill to roll back early release for multiple felony convictions except sex offenses
Source: thecentersquare.com 5/18/22 (The Center Square) — Legislation to roll back some criminal justice reforms implemented in 2017 in regards to repeat nonviolent felony offenders cleared a Senate Committee on Judiciary on Tuesday. House Bill 544, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, would roll back calculations for early release adopted through the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Package of 2017 for non-violent offenders convicted of four or more felony offenses. Current law allows for a convicted felon who has served at least 25% of the sentence imposed to become eligible for parole…
Read MoreShould CA Release 76K Inmates Early? Patch Readers Weigh In
[patch.com – 6/1/21] CALIFORNIA — The Golden State could give 76,000 inmates — including violent and repeat felons — an opportunity to exit prison early if they exhibited “good conduct.” The state hoped to further trim its prison population in what was once the nation’s largest state correctional system. That decision has drawn ire from 44 district attorneys across the state. They filed a civil lawsuit last week against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to stop the correction system from awarding “good conduct” credits to the 76,000 state…
Read MoreACSOL Urgent Action Alert for CA (April 14 deadline!): Support CDCR Repeal of Its Prop. 57 Exclusions
[ACSOL] The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is proposing the repeal of its categorical exclusion of individuals required to register as sex offenders from early parole consideration. According to the proposal, most registrants in custody will be referred to the Board of Parole Hearings for early parole consideration no later than July 1, 2021. “If CDCR’s proposed repeal becomes final, thousands of registrants who have been denied early parole consideration for more than four years will finally receive the benefits of Proposition 57,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Let My People Go
How dare they! How dare the CA Department of Corrections[1] once again deny rights to individuals solely because they have been convicted of a sex offense. Didn’t they learn? The department has recently lost every case in which another of their “mistakes” involving registrants was challenged. Those cases were focused upon the department’s regulations which denied the benefits of Proposition 57 to every person convicted of a non-violent sex offense[2]. The number of Proposition 57 lawsuits is large and includes successful challenges by ACSOL at both the trial and appellate…
Read MoreCA: California will fight a judge’s ruling ordering the state to consider earlier parole for sex offenders
[Time.com] (SACRAMENTO) — California said Monday that it will fight a judge’s ruling ordering the state to consider earlier parole for potentially thousands of sex offenders, such as those convicted of raping an unconscious person. Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration will appeal the order by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner, said Vicky Waters, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The judge previously said in a tentative ruling that prison officials must rewrite part of the parole regulations in a ballot measure passed by voters in 2016. No…
Read MoreCA: Judge Issues Final Ruling in Prop. 57 Case
[ACSOL] Emergency regulations, intended to implement Proposition 57 and issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), must be set aside, according to a final ruling released today by a Sacramento Superior Court judge. The ruling specifically stated that “CDCR cannot substitute its judgment for what it wishes the drafters of Proposition 57 had said. Nor may CDCR’s…regulations override a clear directive in the Constitution. “Due to this ruling, CDCR’s emergency regulations issued in March 2017 cannot be enforced and new regulations must be issued. The new regulation…
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