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 Three Strike Law
SB 1437 eliminates felony-murder rule
Due to a change in the felony-murder rule, starting Jan. 1, codefendants will no longer automatically be considered guilty of murder for participating in crimes such as armed robbery. The law is retroactive. On Sept. 30, with a stroke of his pen, Gov. Jerry Brown made Senate Bill 1437 the law. The bill presented by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) states that prosecutors can no longer hold accomplices, who had no intent to kill anyone during the commission of certain specified crimes, accountable for a murder committed by a … [Read more...] about SB 1437 eliminates felony-murder rule
The purpose behind prison strikes
The push for better food and higher pay in prisons coupled with ongoing parole denials sparked a nationwide prison protest in August. Prison reform advocacy groups confirmed that demonstrations were taking place in prisons across the country and beyond—from California and Washington to Nova Scotia in Canada, according to The Guardian. There were also unconfirmed reports of prison strikes in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The strike, which was the first nationwide prison demonstration in two years, was triggered … [Read more...] about The purpose behind prison strikes
Tennis helps SQ lifer cope with missing his daughter
Tennis is a complex rehabilitative sport. You have to return the ball that is served. But, there are hundreds of ways to hit the ball, and there are a thousand places it could land. For an incarcerated father, it’s a metaphor for life. Paris Williams could only live the life he was dealt. As a Creole man and father of a bi-racial daughter, he dealt with racism from her family. As a CDCR prisoner sentenced to 75 years to life, he deals with years of anguish. Williams was struck out under California’s Three Strike Law for his third burglary … [Read more...] about Tennis helps SQ lifer cope with missing his daughter
California Strikes Unconstitutional
California’s Supreme Court ruled a portion of the Three Strikes Law unconstitutional. It ruled that there are limits on awarding multiple strikes arising out of a single criminal act. The facts of the case are as follows: Darlene Vargas and Oscar Velasquez committed a home invasion robbery against Lynn Burrows and William Alves. Later that night, Vargas and Velasquez were caught prowling near another home in the same neighborhood. A witness later identified Velasquez and Vargas as the man and woman who were walking near the victims’ home. … [Read more...] about California Strikes Unconstitutional