California plans to release over 63 thousand felons

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California is planning to grant an early release to over 76 thousand prison inmates, including 63 thousand felons who were convicted of violent crimes.

According to the Associated Press, reason behind such decision is to “increase incentives for the incarcerated population to practice good behavior and follow the rules while serving their time and participate in rehabilitative and educational programs”, which the authorities believed will ensure safer prisons.

Vice President Kamala Harris, commenting on the decision of releasing 63 thousand felons said, “Reducing the incarcerated population is critical to preventing the spread of coronavirus in prisons. This is the right move and I’m proud to see California leading the way”.

Dana Simas, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Administrative Law, in a statement has confirmed the matter.

According to AP, the decision was already made and the felons will be eligible for good behavior credits that could translate into their sentences being cut short.

California residents can now add another item to the list of reasons they should flee the state, with the liberal government’s latest move posing a possible threat to public safety.

“Additionally, these changes would help to reduce the prison population by allowing incarcerated persons to earn their way home sooner,” Dana Simas said.

Looking at the breakdown further, 20,000 of the inmates who are eligible are serving life sentences.

Then there are 10,000 who have been convicted of “serious nonviolent crimes” and will be eligible halfway through the completion of their sentences.

Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which represents victims of crime, said credits for good behavior aren’t what they seem to be.

“You don’t have to be good to get good time credits. People who lose good time credits for misconduct get them back, they don’t stay gone,” Scheidegger told the AP.

“They could be a useful device for managing the population if they had more teeth in them. But they don’t. They’re in reality just a giveaway.”

California officials have been pushing to decrease the inmate population, citing the coronavirus pandemic among the reasons.

In December, an Orange County judge ordered that the county release over 1,800 inmates — roughly half the county’s jail population — to improve living conditions, KTLA-TV reported.

“If the order stands, it will result in the release of more than 1,800 inmates,” Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said about the order, which the judge argued did not necessarily intend for all inmates to be taken out of custody.

“Many of these inmates are in pre-trial status for, or have been convicted of, violent crimes and will be released back into the community,” Barnes added.

“This order puts our community at substantial risk and does not take into account the impact on the victims of these crimes.”

Before a felon is released back into the community, the state needs to ensure that the individual does not pose a threat to the public.

It is difficult to believe that tens of thousands of inmates are fully rehabilitated or would be able to make a safe return into society with housing and work, which is what makes the order so concerning.

Criminal justice reform should be an important goal of state and federal governments, but cutting corners and letting potentially violent criminals free is not the right solution.

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