A bill approved by the State Senate to give juveniles sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole a second chance was revived after being defeated in the Assembly.
SB 9 by Sen. Leland Yee’s, D-San Francisco, would offer some juvenile offenders sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole a second chance at eventual parole for crimes committed as minors, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The bill was revived after the Assembly approved amendments making inmates who had tortured their victims or killed public safety officials ineligible to apply for a shorter sentence. Lawmakers opposed to the bill said the amendments unfairly place more value on some people’s lives than others, according to the Associated Press. “By narrowing the scope of this bad bill, it doesn’t make it a kinder, gentler bill. It doesn’t make it something that protects the public safety or is in the interest of the public good. These amendments merely take a horrible idea and make it slightly less horrible,” said Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Hesperia.
Democratic Assemblyman Charles Calderon of Whittier said the amendments simply make it impossible for people who tortured their victims or killed a law enforcement officer to ever get out of prison. “All you’re saying is that you want to protect public employees,” he said.
If the bill is approved and signed into law, offenders that were juveniles when they committed their crimes could submit petitions seeking a reduction of their sentence after they serve 15 years. A judge could then choose to decrease their sentence to 25 years-to-life.
