Time for an honest discussion on Prop 57

by George Hofstetter
George
Hofstetter
Governor Brown's Proposition 57 is a constitutional amendment which will result in a wholesale revision of the criminal justice system. It transfers the power to determine the length of time many inmates will serve from Judges to the Parole Board.  It transfers the power to determine sentence credits for all inmates from the state legislature to bureaucrats at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CCDR).  It is the most important ballot proposition according to Governor Brown, who told the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board he is so passionate about his desire to change the criminal justice system via Proposition 57 that he " could talk about it all day ." 
 
However, as opponents of Proposition 57 have highlighted by name and crime the scores of inmates who will receive early release, how the Governor now talks about Proposition 57 is very revealing.  To hear the Governor tell it, the enormous powers granted to the Parole Board and CCDR by his initiative will rarely be exercised.   To keep imprisoned sex offenders who can be paroled early under Prop 57, the Governor claims regulations will be written  at some future point to exclude sex offenders. In response to criticism over the large number of prisoners who would qualify for parole under Proposition 57,  Governor Brown would have us believe that the Parole Board would only begrudgingly grant parole to the tens of thousands of inmates who will qualify for early release if the proposition passes.  
Really Governor?
 
As I mentioned in a previous blog , I proudly signed the argument against this terribly dangerous proposition, along with SFPOA President Martin Halloran and CDAA President Stephen Wagstaffe, who is the District Attorney of San Mateo County.   
 
If anybody has any doubt that the Parole Board will not eagerly embrace the ability to release a large number of inmates, they haven't been paying attention to the actions of the Parole Board.  Since Governor Brown took office in 2011, over 1,800 inmates serving life sentences for murder have been released by the Parole Board.  That is more releases than under the previous four Governors combined.  In fact, some releases were so outrageous--brutal murderers such as Manson family member Leslie Van Houten or cop killers like Jesus Cecena --that even Governor Brown stepped in to block their release.  If a wholesale release for murder is standard procedure at the Parole Board, one can only imagine the low bar for release for the crimes covered by Proposition 57.
 
Likewise, when opponents accurately described the sex offenders eligible for early parole under Proposition 57, the Governor's pushback was that "anticipated rules would make registered sex offenders ineligible for parole." The Governor recently repeated this claim in a voicemail to Fresno County Sheriff Margret Sims, who had highlighted a sex offender serving a 100-year sentence who was eligible for parole.  According to the Governor, the inmate  would be denied parole because he was a "registered sex offender," but that is just not accurate . 
 
There are a few problems with the argument that sex offenders would be excluded.  When the Governor wrote his initiative, he could have, but did not, exclude sex offenders from those eligible for parole.  It is extremely unlikely that courts will not let state bureaucrats at CCDR rewrite the Constitution (should Prop 57 pass) to exclude an entire category of inmates from the Prop 57 release provisions.  Instead, equal protection, due process, and other arguments will ensure sex offenders remain eligible for parole under Proposition 57.
 
Finally, there is the provision of Proposition 57 which allows for the earlier release of all inmates.  This provision empowers CCDR to award all inmates "credits earned for good behavior and approved rehabilitative or educational achievements."  There are no criteria for what is a "rehabilitative or educational achievement"--PE in prison could suffice.  If anybody doubts the low bar set by this provision, Leslie Van Houten provides an excellent illustration.  After being denied parole 18 times, the Parole Board determined the "self-help programs, classes, and counseling" she took following the 18th denial made her suitable for parole.  One can only imagine the "self-help" programs CCDR will decide deserve increased sentence credits under Prop 57.
 
Governor Brown stated that "whatever it takes to get this done will be taken" when he unveiled Prop 57.  The Governor's attempts to downplay the scope of his initiative, and to denounce and berate opponents  who correctly identify those who will be eligible for early release under the initiative, makes it clear he is putting that promise into action.

George Hofstetter is President of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. ALADS is the collective bargaining agent and represents more than 8,200 deputy sheriffs and district attorney investigators working in Los Angeles County.  George can be contacted at [email protected].
 
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