State senator blasts bill allowing early prison releases

By Brian Day on August 20, 2009 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) |

Following the passage of a bill designed to cut $1.2 billion from the California prison system by releasing felons early, along with other measures, State Senator Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, fired off a scathing criticism of his democratic counterparts.

The bill passed by a margin of 21-19 Thursday, and still faces a vote in the State Assembly. Four democrats opposed the bill, along with all republicans, according to the Associated Press.

"Sending thousands and thousands of inmates home in an early release line up places California families in grave danger," Huff said in a written statement. "There is no doubt that the state's prison system is collapsing, but there are more reasonable and respobsible ways in which to save money."

According to the AP:

If also approved by the Assembly, the governor's proposal would release or divert from state prisons 27,000 inmates in the current fiscal year and another 10,000 in the fiscal year that begins next July.

It would do so through a range of measures:

• Inmates with less than 12 months to serve, who are over age 60 or who are medically incapacitated could be released from prison and given home detention with electronic monitoring.

• Sentences for certain property crimes will be lowered to misdemeanors, meaning convicts won't have to spend time in prison. Those include vehicle theft, petty theft with a prior conviction, receiving stolen property and check-kiting, a scam that primarily targets banks with fraudulent deposits.

• Allow more inmates to gain early release by completing educational, vocational or substance abuse rehabilitation programs.

• Ease supervision for thousands of parolees, making it more difficult to send them back to prison for violations.

"This law," Huff said, "undermines California's Three Strikes Law and aids in the release of 27,000 'non-violent' criminals."

He added that the definition of 'non-violent criminal' is "deeply flawed," and would allow people convicted of crimes such as elder abuse, stalking and identity theft to be eligible for early release.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

2 Comments

janette cooper said:

This scares me to the core.How could the state of Ca allow such a large amount of criminals back onto our streets?How could they allow "Elder abusers out isnt that in the same catagory as a child abuse? I am very scared for my child, her Father is in a Ca State prison for beating his girlfriends head in with a pipe.He has fathered a multitude of children and all of us Mother's are sitting on pins and needles for their future is riding on this.Early release means relocating for some of us due to his stocker mentality.I can't sum this up on a positive note for it feels as though there is not one.

August 23, 2009 8:01 PM

stephanie said:

Well i would like too leave this comment,half of the populations consist of African Americans And hispanics and i think releaseing then is a very good choice knowing that they didn't/don't have a chance in the judicial system. I have a friend that was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit and recieved 25 to life for first degree murder for supposedly making a vebal statement.Now they took his childhood and he had to grow up in prison do too neglegence of the courts.I think the courts need too re-open files and retry 95%of these cases and the innocent shell be release and the right ones can have a second chance in life.Enclosing the most repeated offenders are people with non violent crimes who do short terms. lifers have a low percentage of returning to prison upon release.

September 7, 2009 11:55 PM