Lawmakers, Victim Advocates Rally Against Prisoner W/O Parole Early Release Bill At Capitol

A group of GOP lawmakers, law enforcement officers, and victim advocates held a press conference on Thursday, speaking out against a revived bill that, if passed, would give early release to some prisoners serving life without parole.

Senate Bill 94, authored by Senator Dave Cortese (D-Los Gatos), would “allow violent murderers sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole to petition the court for a new sentence with parole, if the individual has served at least 25 years and if their offense occurred before June 5, 1990,” according to the analysis. The individuals who are eligible for new sentencing under this bill are convicted of a “special circumstance murder,” a conviction that is reserved for violent criminals who commit murder in a particularly egregious manner such as torture, poison, lying in wait, rape by instrument, mayhem and other such offenses.

As noted by the Globe earlier this month when the bill was removed from the inactive file, Senator Cortese wrote the bill last year aiming to release elderly prisoners in the California prison system, especially if they have been proven to have rehabilitated after decades behind bars. He also argued that those after the age of 40 are less likely to commit violent acts and that violence at a young age and other factors should be in play when considering a parole for them.

SB 94 proved to be a divisive bill. Most Republican lawmakers and a few Democrats opposed the bill, but overwhelming Democratic support kept the bill rising through to Assembly subcommittees. However, support for the bill waned in August and September, leading lawmakers to shelve it in the inactive file in September 2023. For nearly a year, most in Sacramento thought that the bill was dead, especially because it came up against a slew of “tougher on crime” bills that were introduced earlier in the year.

However, last week , SB 94 was reactivated for an Assembly floor vote. The move caught many off guard, but also quickly reunited opposing groups and organizations once more. This included Senate GOP leadership, who released a 14 page analysis of the bill on Wednesday and showed just how dangerous the bill is. Both sides proceeded to scramble since last week, as the bill only has a limited time to be scrutinized once again before floor votes. This led to Senate and Assembly Republicans to organize a press conference at the Capitol on Thursday.

Tim Dale Morris of Ventura burglarized the home of an elderly, deaf, one-legged man whom Morris beat to death in his own bed.

It’s people like Tim Dale Morris who Democrats want to release from prison into our communities under their radical Senate Bill 94.

Today, I stood in… pic.twitter.com/Giwc9welBE

— Brian W. Jones (@SenBrianJones) August 22, 2024

Senate and Assembly Republicans, flanked by victim advocates and law enforcement officials, spoke out. Law enforcement officials there, such as Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, pointed out that the bill disregards both victims and regular Californians in favor of criminals. Multiple lawmakers also spoke, condemning the bill for removing justice from victims families.

“When violent murderers brutally take a life, they lose their right to freedom. Their punishment is in the name—life without parole,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) at the press conference. “Now, radical Democrat politicians want to bring these violent offenders back into our communities. Releasing heinous murderers after promising justice to the victims’ families is not just disrespectful, it’s dangerous.”

Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Corona) also added that “I am disgusted by the actions of radical Democrats in our state legislature who have chosen to resurrect one of last year’s most egregious ‘public safety’ bills, SB 94. This disastrous proposal would allow the most vicious murderers to be released from prison. SB 94 would break the promise made to victims that society would never see these criminals on our streets again. Under this proposal criminals like Scott Peterson who viciously murdered his wife and unborn child would be eligible for early release. Californians are sick of Democrats’ soft on crime agenda in Sacramento and we must reject SB 94.”

Another Assemblyman, James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), also said that “The fact that Democrats are debating whether or not to keep violent murderers behind bars shows how out-of-touch they really are. SB 94 is an insult to the victims of these killers, their families and the millions of Californians who are sick of criminals running rampant on our streets.”

Families of victims speak out

The press conference then turned more somber when crime victims and family of victims spoke out against the bill, showing a side of the argument often not heard.

“To hear that Sen. Cortese has revived this horrible bill is a total slap in the face to the victims who were promised by a judge that their killers would never get released,” said Lauren Pettigrew of Crime Victims United, who had a family member killed in 2007 by three people who were sentenced to life without parole. “Senate Bill 94 is opening up the nightmare and anxiety of having to go back to court and face the monsters, followed by the possibility of a lifetime of parole hearings. I am disillusioned and in anguish wondering when victims’ families can mourn quietly for their loved ones without worrying about legislation that will re-open up wounds from their past.”

The press conference was seen as a success, and on Friday, the bill still is seen as widely up in the air to be passed despite narrowly being moved forward by Democrats last year.

“It was a heartfelt and logical response from a lot of people yesterday at that press conference,” said “Dana,” a Capitol staffer, to the Globe Friday. “And then there are the political implications. This is an election year, California is steadily rolling back progressive crime strategies, and the Governor is being a lot more careful on what he signs, as he doesn’t want any future political blowback

“So, first off, any debates in September at the state Senate and Assembly level, for anyone who votes for this, they are going to be drilled on it. Every district is worrying about crime right now, and many Democrats are thinking twice based on that. You also have many lawmakers supporting  more harder stances on crime, including Democrats. Even within the last year many have had drastic changes in what they support. So there’s that. And then Newsom. If somehow the bill makes it to him, he will really have to think hard if he wants to be known as the Governor who let go of prisoners who were serving life without parole. He can be standing at a debate in 2028 or 2032 and suddenly having to justify signing it.

“The press conference yesterday showed just how big the points they were making are.”

Floor votes on SB 94 are expected later this month.