SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers have a few days to decide which bills they’ll send to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
One piece of legislation that has yet to be decided is Senate Bill 94, which would create a pathway for some incarcerated people who are serving a life-without-parole sentence to petition for parole
The bill was resurrected this month after being placed in the “inactive file” last year because of a lack of sufficient votes.
Republicans and crime victims are making a final push during the final days of the legislative session by urging lawmakers to oppose the controversial measure.
“Please consider our feelings, the survivor’s feelings,” said Anabel Velasquez, a domestic violence survivor who recently spoke at a press conference led by Republican lawmakers opposing SB 94.
The bill would not guarantee early release for those behind bars if passed.
However, it would allow people who were convicted before June 5, 1990, and have served at least 25 years to petition a judge for re-sentencing.
The legislation wouldn’t apply to cop killers, serial killers or domestic violence perpetrators.
SB 94 was also amended this year, so that anyone accused of being a sex offender would not be eligible.
“It’s a very stringent and narrowly crafted bill,” said State Senator Dave Cortese, who authored it.
He explains that even after someone serving an LWOP sentence petitions a judge to have their case reviewed, the individual still has to go before the parole board, and the governor still has the final say.
“The judges have no ability under my bill to release anyone. All they can do is refer them to the parole board if they think that’s appropriate or they can do nothing and leave the LWOP sentence the way it is,” he noted.
Cortese adds another amendment he made to his bill after hearing from the opposition is that it would only allow someone to create a petition once instead of three times.
“This isn’t a biblical moment of, ‘Let’s release all the prisoners from all the prisons.’ What this is about is trying to catch those few cases that may have been improperly handled in the first place and make sure they get the justice and review they deserve,” he said.
People like Joseph Bell who went to prison in 1990 for his role in a murder and robbery charge, despite not committing the killing. Bell had his sentence commuted by former Gov. Jerry Brown because of the work he did to rehabilitate himself while incarcerated.
Bell currently serves on the National LWOP Leadership Council and advocates for SB 94 hoping it will benefit some people he met in prison.
“I work with people that are formerly incarcerated and are out on probation and I know those men in there can do the same thing. They have the capacity. The ones that are doing that kind of work can be productive in our community,” Bell said.
However, opponents like Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher say the bill is a slap in the face of victims.
“SB 94 is an insult to the victims of these killers, their families and the millions of Californians who are sick of criminals running rampant on our streets,” said Gallagher.
Lawmakers have until Aug. 31 to vote on the bill.