| Unfortunately, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) acts as if Marsy's Law does not exist by continuing to release thousands of prisoners early and without any parole supervision.
CDCR's actions seriously compromise public safety, flout the justice victims of crime deserve, and are unconstitutional. That is why we submitted written declarations to the court in support of Crime Victims United's lawsuit to force CDCR to comply with the constitution.
The constitution forbids the early release of prisoners. Article I, Section 28(a)(5) gives victims the right "to expect that persons convicted of committing criminal acts are sufficiently punished in both the manner and the length of the sentences imposed by the courts ...." Section 28(f)(5) states that sentences "shall be carried out in compliance with the courts' sentencing orders, and shall not be substantially diminished by early release policies intended to alleviate overcrowding in custodial facilities." On Jan. 25, 2010, CDCR started releasing prisoners early to alleviate prison overcrowding. Senate Bill 18, an Extraordinary Session budget trailer bill which passed last year, gives sanction to early release and we opposed it knowing the dire consequences.
CDCR's first obligation is not to SBx3 18; it is to the California Constitution. When in conflict, the constitution trumps state law.
CDCR is releasing prisoners early based on a new early release credit in SBx3 18 that we call the "breathing credit." Under this new credit, prisoners get extra day-for-day credit simply for sitting in their cell and doing nothing. A 1980s law already allowed most state prisoners credits for "good time," such as learning a vocational skill or enrolling in an educational program.
SBx3 18 goes even further by adding even more credits if a prisoner simply sits in a cell, thereby substantially diminishing prisoners' sentences in violation of the constitution.
As a matter of law, CDCR must follow the constitution and immediately stop releasing prisoners early. As a matter of policy, early release makes no sense given California's historically sky-high recidivism rate of 70 percent. For every 100 prisoners released from state prison, 70 come back to prison after committing more crimes. This universe of unrehabilitated prisoners remains a risk to society.
One of the best ways to tackle California's overcrowded prisons, which is at 160,000 prisoners, is to reduce recidivism. If the recidivism failure rate dropped to 50 percent, that would mean an additional 32,000 prisoners would integrate into society and not go back to prison. This can't be done in one or two years and no court can force prisoners and parolees to become law-abiding citizens by simply forcing their early release back into society.
CDCR also implemented a policy where thousands of prisoners released early will no longer have parole supervision, cannot be sent back to prison for parole violations, and will basically have no parole process whatsoever. This is in direct violation of Section 28(b)(15) of the constitution, which gives victims the right "to participate in the parole process" and "to provide information to the parole authority." Victims can't do that when there is no parole process.
The only consequence for continued criminality will be more costly local prosecution and since many may not be caught or prosecuted, continued victimization is rewarded.
The above policies result in a dramatic shift of state responsibility for prisoners and parolees to local governments without any resources.
The voters of California knew what they were doing when they passed Marsy's Law to amend the constitution. CDCR's actions flout the will of the voters, violate the constitution, and are a recipe for a public safety disaster. This has to stop.
Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, represents the 53rd Assembly District and is seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general; Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, represents the 2nd Assembly District in Northern California. |
