California Again Set to Release Thousands of Inmates Under “Emergency” Orders
Today 41 California District Attorneys have filed a petition with the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) requesting the repeal of temporary emergency regulations awarding additional credits to over 76,000 state prison inmates. The regulations passed under a claim of an “emergency” and were first made public on Friday April 30, 2021, at 3 pm. These regulations would result in the early release of some of California’s most violent criminals.
In adopting these regulations, and claiming an emergency, the CDCR Secretary stated these regulations were necessary to comply with “the direction outlined in the Governor’s Budget Summary” presented a year ago on May 14, 2020. By invoking an emergency, the traditional transparent public comment period was bypassed.
The adopted regulation changes increase the amount of custodial credits, thus granting early releases to violent offenders as well as non-violent offenders serving sentences under California’s “Three Strikes Law.”
“On behalf of the victims impacted and the communities which will be impacted by this dangerous decision, I think the CDCR Secretary owes everyone an explanation how the Governor’s 2020 budget plan constitutes an emergency now in 2021,” said Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward. “The dangerous policies which have released hundreds of inmates back to Tulare County in 2020, along with thousands across this state, once again prove this administration’s failure to comprehend that victims deserve truth in sentencing, a position that I have long advocated.”
“It is offensive to read in the adoption of these regulations that CDCR believes the early release of violent inmates will not have a significant adverse impact on businesses, or that the early release of some of the most violent inmates may have a positive impact on the health and welfare of California residents by reducing prison overcrowding,” Ward continued. “We all know the prison population has been well under the Court ordered level for several years. I implore Californians to demand transparency in this decision.”
The administrative law petition is often the first step in seeking a formal court order declaring the regulations unlawful. If the emergency regulations are nullified by a court, CDCR would be forced to pass the regulations in the traditional manner, requiring the State’s Office of Administrative Law to provide greater transparency and public input.
Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare
Assistant District Attorney Dave Alavezos (559) 636-5494