DAs statewide challenge CDCR
May 19—District attorneys in Yuba, Sutter, Colusa and Glenn counties, along with 40 others representing counties throughout California, have signed a petition challenging the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's decision to award additional credits to more than 76,000 eligible inmates.
The changes were announced on April 30 and took effect on May 1. CDCR standardized the amount of good conduct credit inmates receive by increasing the credit rate for inmates based on their conviction. Credits are added to the days a person serves in custody, shortening his or her actual stay in prison.
"The CDCR's proposed action would substantially increase the criminality in Sutter County," said Sutter County District Attorney Amanda Hopper in an email. "It is a ridiculous miscarriage of justice."
CDCR Press Secretary Dana Simas said the agency is reviewing the petition from the district attorneys at this time.
"Proposition 57, which voters overwhelmingly approved in 2016, gave CDCR the authority to submit regulations to provide additional opportunities for incarcerated people to receive good conduct credits, as allowed by statute," Simas said in an email. "The emergency regulations are a result of that voter mandate. CDCR submitted these emergency regulations in accordance with Office of Administrative Law policies, and are still subject to public comment and approval before becoming final."
Yuba County District Attorney Clint Curry said the changes mean inmates who committed a violent offense will have to serve 66 percent of their sentence instead of 85 percent. Those sentenced to anything else will now have to serve 50 percent of their term whether or not they have a prior strike.
Before the changes, those incarcerated with a prior strike offense had to serve 80 percent of their term and those without a strike served 50 percent. Good conduct credits are earned by every inmate not sentenced to death or a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Good conduct credits are in addition to credits earned by participating in education, counseling, career training and other rehabilitative programming.
"The term 'good conduct credits' is deceptive; the inmates get these credits automatically," Curry said in an email. "If the inmate misbehaves in prison, a small portion of their 'good conduct credits' can be taken away only if they are found after an administrative hearing to have committed a 'serious rules violation.'"
Curry said the changes will mean people sentenced for violent and serious crimes will be out of prison sooner.
"This undermines most of the goals of sentencing, including protecting society, punishing the doer of criminal acts, and preventing criminals from victimizing others by keeping them locked up and off the streets," Curry said. "Some people who commit crime can and should be rehabilitated, but many are not ready to change their ways. The only way to protect society from these individuals is to keep them off the streets by incarcerating them."
Curry said the regulations were first made public on April 30 and were adopted by CDCR claiming an emergency, which allowed it to bypass public scrutiny and the traditional rule-making process. CDCR said the changes were necessary to comply with direction from Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget summary from May 2020.
"The governor is lowering punishments for crime by essentially saying the criminals don't have to serve the time," Curry said. "Early release of our most dangerous criminals further erodes accountability for crime, mocks crime victims, and ultimately puts our communities at risk to further criminality."
By filing the petition, the DAs are asking CDCR to redo the rule-making process with input from the public, according to Curry. If CDCR refuses, the next step would be to file a lawsuit against CDCR in court.
"Our hope is that CDCR will abandon this misguided effort once the public has an opportunity to weigh in on the new regulations," Curry said.
