Penal Code revision panel seeks more parole, end of three strikes law

Abolishing the three strikes law, expanding eligibility for parole and allowing appellate courts to reduce sentences, were some of the potential recommendations the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code unanimously approved Thursday.

The committee, composed of judges, academics and lawmakers, directed its staff to draft a final report that will be voted on at its next meeting in November.

Based on the meeting the report will contain 8 recommendations: Abolish or limit the three strikes law; expand residential reentry programs for prisoners; expand parole eligibility for all convicts who have served the full term for their primary crime; require all counties to review for parole all inmates sentenced to jail who would be eligible if confined in prison; create a review process for life without parole sentences; strengthen alternatives to incarceration; allow appellate courts to reduce sentences when the justices consider the excessive; encourage increased parole grants and data sharing.

The final report will be submitted to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature.

There was little debate on Thursday. Committee members focused on final suggestions for the wording of the recommendations.

The committee's 2020 report led to several proposed bills, including two by a committee member, Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley.

SB82 would have prevented prosecutors from elevating petty theft charges to felony robbery, but did not pass the Senate Appropriations Committee.

But, SB 81, to create guidelines for the courts to curb the use of sentence enhancements if they do not protect public safety, did pass both houses.

Other bills that were proposed based on the committee's 2020 recommendations included SB 483 by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, which retroactively applied the elimination of automatic three-year and one-year criminal sentence enhancements, and AB 333 by Sen. Sydney K. Kamlager, D-Los Angeles, which would limit gang enhancements to the most serious offenses.

SB 82, SB 483 and AB 333 are all awaiting Newsom's final approval.

The Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code was created in 2020 through budget legislation in 2019.

It is tasked with recommending statutory changes to simplify and rationalize criminal law and procedure; establish alternatives to incarceration that aid in rehabilitation and improve the parole and probation system.

The committee is chaired by Michael S. Romano, director of Stanford Law School's Three Strikes and Justice Advocacy Project, and includes Skinner, Assemblyman Alex Lee, D-San Jose; retired Los Angeles judge Peter P. Espinoza; retired Northern District judge Thelton E. Henderson; retired California Supreme Court justice Carlos R. Moreno and Loyola Law School professor Priscila Ocen.