In a move to create “safer prisons,” California plans early release of 76,000 prisoners “Good behavior credits” are being offered to nearly 20,000 inmates who are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole. Leslie Eastman
After a steady-year of media-supported civil unrest and toxic political choices, a recent review of crime statistics in Los Angeles County shows that murder rates have spiked nearly 200% so far this year compared to the same time in 2020.
There were 60 people murdered in L.A. County as of Feb. 28 – a 186% jump from the 21 killings reported during the same period in 2020, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department told Fox News in a segment that aired Thursday.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told Fox News criminals are emboldened by District Attorney George Gascón’s progressive policies and stressed that people must understand that such elections will have consequences.
“They need to really pick and choose very carefully.because for them it’s very easy to say, ‘Oh yeah, all cops are bad,’ and, ‘Let’s reform and defund the police,’” Villanueva said. “Yet they’re the very first ones to pick up the 911 when someone’s crawling over their back gate trying to get into their house.”
Against this backdrop, it is stunning to learn California officials are planning the early release of up to 76,000 inmates, including violent and repeat felons, to further reduce the population of what once was the nation’s largest state correctional system.
More than 63,000 inmates convicted of violent crimes will be eligible for good behavior credits that shorten their sentences by one-third instead of the one-fifth that had been in place since 2017. That includes nearly 20,000 inmates who are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole.
The new rules take effect Saturday, but it will be months or years before any inmates go free earlier. Corrections officials say the goal is to reward inmates who better themselves while critics said the move will endanger the public.
Under the change, more than 10,000 prisoners convicted of a second serious but nonviolent offense under the state’s “three strikes” law will be eligible for release after serving half their sentences. That’s an increase from the current time-served credit of one-third of their sentence.
The same increased release time will apply to nearly 2,900 nonviolent third strikers, the corrections department projected.
The argument for the move is that it will create “safer prisons.”
“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,” Dana Simas, a state Office of Administrative Law spokeswoman, said in a statement about the mass release of prisoners in the Golden State.
“Additionally, these changes would help to reduce the prison population by allowing incarcerated persons to earn their way home sooner,” she added.
“Unexpectedly,” the response to this plan is plan has been less than enthusiastic.
It was difficult finding social media responses not filled with profanity.
On the other hand, the response by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recall election opponents is going exactly as expected.
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who is running to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in a recall election, is criticizing Newsom for a new rule that could shorten the sentences of 76,000 felons in California, including many who have committed violent crimes.
“The decision to release tens of thousands of violent criminals onto our streets is a blatant assault on public safety in California,” Faulconer said in a news release Friday. “This will put countless families at risk across our state.
“Reckless and dangerous decisions like these have become all too common under Gavin Newsom, and that’s why I’m leading the movement to recall him this year.”
Newsom’s campaign referred questions about the changes to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which said the new rule for inmates is not an early release program.
If the summer of 2021 is like the summer of 2020 in terms of “peaceful protests,” Newsom’s opponents will have a significant issue to use in the recall effort.
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