California set a nationwide trend in sentencing reform when, in 2012, voters passed an initiative that reduced the sentences for non-violent three strikers. The result: thousands of prisoners serving life sentences got out of prison. Other initiatives in 2014 and 2016 chipped away at the Three Strikes Laws. Thousands more prisoners earned release. The latest development comes from an appeals court case, re Edwards. Edwards holds that California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) regulations preventing nonviolent … [Read more...] about CDCR issues new regulations for non-violent three-strikes offenders
California’s court system
Overcrowding in County Jails Changes Bail Practices
Overcrowding in county jails has California reviewing its bail practices. California’s bail practices have clogged the jails and become a tool that preemptively punishes the poor. Many individuals who pose no threat to society are jailed while awaiting trial. Realignment shifted many state prisoners to county jails. “64% of California’s jail population is awaiting trial or sentencing as of December 2016.” Most remain in pretrial custody because they cannot afford bail. Jail Profile Survey, http://www.bscc.ca.gov/ Like a flood moving … [Read more...] about Overcrowding in County Jails Changes Bail Practices