According to data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, simply brandishing a firearm while committing a crime in California will earn an offender an additional 10 years in prison, nearly 10 times the amount he’d receive if he’d used a knife to stab someone.
The data highlighted that in 2024, more than 93,000 people, or more than 80% of all CDCR inmates in California prisons, were serving prolonged sentences of at least a decade or more.
Many of the prison sentences in California are exacerbated by enhancements or the amount of extra time a defendant can receive for certain aspects of their crime, including having a prior criminal record or using a weapon.
CDCR’s data also revealed that one of the most commonly charged enhancements in the state is the firearm enhancement, or penal code 12022.53.
“I received three separate gun enhancements that totaled to an extra seven years added to my sentence,” said James Miles, a San Quentin resident convicted of home invasion robbery. Miles said that although his crime was classified as violent under the penal code, there was no physical harm done in the commission of the crime.
The firearm enhancement is a product of California’s “10-20-Life” law that was enacted in 1998 with the passage of AB 4 and SB 1530.
The law added Penal Code 12022.53 to the books, mandating an “additional and consecutive 10 years for the personal use of a firearm in the commission of a felony;” an additional 20 years for the “personal and intentional discharge of a firearm;” and a 25-years-to-life prison term for a person who “discharges a firearm causing great bodily injury.” In the case of the 10 year portion of the law, the gun doesn’t have to be loaded, or even work.
The law was passed in an effort to deter violent crime. At the time, the legislature declared “that substantially larger prison sentences must be imposed on felons who use firearms, in order to protect our citizens.” The law had the strong support of then governor Pete Wilson (R), who coined the phrase, “If you use a gun, you’re done.”
It should be noted that between 1993 and 1998, there was a 37.8% decline in firearm related homicides, and violent crime was down overall, primarily due to existing laws and heavy policing at the time, according to the Violence Policy Center.
Some say the gun enhancement goes too far, especially when compared to enhancements for the use of weapons other than a firearm.
“Carrying a gun is only meant to terrorize your environment or to kill. The potential to do harm is greater, so I understand what the laws are meant for,” said Miles. “The truth is, I didn’t hurt anyone. I made the choice not to cause physical harm, and that should be considered during sentencing.”
Penal Code 12022(b)(1) refers to anyone who uses a deadly or dangerous weapon, such as a knife, in the commission of a felony. Violation of this code results in an additional one year in prison. Additionally, Penal Code 12022.7 adds as little as three years, and a maximum of six years if the weapon used resulted in great bodily injury.
The range of punishment between possession of and the use of a firearm can result in as little as 10 years and as much as two decades in state prison.
But, as the law reads, an offender can stab someone or beat someone with a blunt object, resulting in a victim “becoming comatose due to brain injury” or “suffering paralysis of a permanent nature” and receive no more than an additional six years.
“I received a one year enhancement for using a knife in my case,” said San Quentin resident Tamar Thompson. Thompson was sentenced to seven years in state prison for stabbing a person multiple times, six years for the assault and one year for the enhancement.
Further data from multiple sources, including CDCR, has shown that the gun enhancement law is disproportionately applied to people of color.
For example, Los Angeles County convicts and sends more people to prison than any other county in California. CDCR data shows that between 2010 and 2016 the county convicted more than 2,500 Black and Hispanic men of gun use, resulting in thousands of years of additional prison time. This is compared to only 78 White men convicted under penal code 12022.53(b) during the same period.
Research from the California Policy Lab detailed how Black and American Indian people are most likely to receive enhanced sentences, followed by members of the Hispanic community. For example, Wisconsin University showed that Black people in California are 16 times more likely to receive stand alone gun enhancements than White people in similar conditions.
In recent years, the Racial Justice Act, a 2020 law meant to “prohibit conviction or sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin,” added Penal Code 745 to the code, helping people incarcerated in California seek remedy to the disproportionate application of the gun and other enhancements, and the lengthy sentences they produce.
“You would think that judges would be able to see that something is flawed in our system. And the flaws come from ideas, and the ideas come from biased stereotypes placed on people of color. Those stereotypes make it easier to direct laws and place enhancements on those people,” said Miles
In the age of prison and criminal justice reform, the opportunity exists to revisit and possibly revise the nearly 30-year-old gun enhancement law, while reconsidering existing laws that give so little prison time for the violent use of other weapons when serious harm is inflicted.
“People need help, support, and resources to do better, not harsher laws, because a gun enhancement is not going to stop someone from picking up a gun. Real hope deters crime” said Miles.