California is giving as many as 76,000 incarcerated people the opportunity to leave prison early, as the state aims to further trim what was once the nation’s largest correctional system.
Michael Romano—professor of criminal law and policy at Stanford Law School—told KCBS Radio that the program stems from the 2016 voter-approved Proposition 57, supported by then-Governor Jerry Brown.
“The voters in 2016 then realized that we need to focus people on being prepared to re-enter community,” he said. “90 to 95% of the people who to go jail and prison re-enter the community and previously there’s very little incentive to do anything in prison except sit on your bed and do your time.”
Romano said that the program encourages and rewards people who are currently incarcerated to prepare themselves as best as possible for their release time by building office furniture or racking up good credits with educational and cognitive behavioral therapy programs.
“People who have committed the most serious and most violent crimes--including murderers and three-strikers, and even non-violent three strikers--do not get out of prison at all unless the parole board deems they are safe to be released into the community," he explained.
Thirteen thousand incarcerated people convicted of serious, but non-violent offenses will be eligible for release after serving half of their sentences.