California GOP Lawmakers Oppose Proposal to Expand Inmate Early Release Program

A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officer wears a protective mask as he stands guard at the front gate of San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif., on June 29, 2020. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

As the public hearing for a proposal to expand California’s inmate credits system—a system to release certain inmates early—is coming up on April 14, state Republican lawmakers are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to have the proposal withdrawn following a deadly mass shooting in Sacramento.

Assembly Members Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), and Laurie Davies (R-Laguna Niguel) were among the 15 lawmakers calling for the governor to remove the increase of good conduct credits from the proposal (pdf) by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation system that allows inmates to be released early.

“Crime, and the fear of crime, is rising in California,” their April 13 letter to Newsom read. “Atrocities, such as the shooting … one block from the State Capitol, are mere demonstrations of the fact that, far too often, dangerous criminals are loose on our streets when they should have been behind bars.”

The letter shed light on the April 3 Sacramento shooting, which killed 6 and injured 12.

Former felon Smiley Martin—who has a criminal record and was released from prison in February despite serving only a portion of his 10-year sentence—was arrested for the massacre.

The “good conduct credits” earning system allows sentence reduction for incarcerated individuals demonstrating good behavior. The system, created under Proposition 57 passed in 2016, was an effort to reduce prison population and encourage inmate participation in firefighting, rehabilitative programs, and educational courses.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring case numbers, the system regulations have been adjusted to make it temporarily easier for inmates to earn credits.

The current rules allow for a felon convicted of a violent crime to earn up to 33 percent off their sentence and for an inmate with a non-violent conviction to earn up to 50 percent off their sentence, according to the corrections department. Inmates eligible for firefighting camps or certain rehabilitative or educational programs can earn more credits through the programs.

The corrections department’s recent proposal would establish a permanent plan based on the current rules.

Meanwhile, the state classifies some violent crimes as nonviolent, including human trafficking, animal cruelty, sexual assault, domestic violence, and gun violence.

Douglas Eckenrod, retired deputy director of the corrections department’s Adult Parole Operations, said releasing convicted felons early contributes to the rise of violent crimes in the state.

“Skyrocketing homicides are committed mainly by early release inmates,” Eckenrod told The Epoch Times.

Inmates are being released onto the streets with a $200 check and back into high crime populations with no plan, no health coverage, and nowhere to go, he said.

“Tens of thousands of folks are heading back to communities with soaring crime rates,” Eckenrod said while emphasizing that many of the inmates are not ready to be released and end up either homeless or in high drug usage areas.

Also, he challenged the belief that inmates weren’t safe inside prisons as COVID-19 spread, saying that they were released back into the open without health care benefits, regular testing, and prevention measures.

With jails continuing to be overcrowded and those who commit property crimes likely to be released shortly after arrest, Eckenrod said that more crime is being committed because “it’s worth the risk.”

In 2021, preliminary data for Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, and San Francisco showed an increase in violent and property crime with homicides up 17 percent and aggravated assaults up 4 percent in the cities, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

To combat the early release of prisoners, a group of district attorneys in the state filed a lawsuit in the Sacramento Superior Court last May following the announcement of increased good conduct credits for eligible inmates.

However, the updated credit system persists while crime has been rising in mostly black and brown communities, Eckenrod said.

A public hearing on the proposal will be held on April 14 at 10 a.m. Public comments can be submitted until April 13 to the email [email protected].