CA Bill to Give Parole Boards Graphic Photos Of Crimes During Parole Hearings Introduced

A bill that would ensure that commissioners at the Board of Parole Hearings are provided with all pertinent information, including graphic photos of the crime when considering the release of inmates, was introduced in the Senate on Thursday.

Senate Bill 356, authored by Senator Brian Jones (R-San Diego), would require the California Board of Parole Hearings to consider in a parole suitability hearing for an inmate imprisoned under a life sentence specified written statements, documents, online materials, and photographs that are relevant to determining parole suitability.

Senator Jones wrote the bill because of a January 2024 policy change the board made to preclude the files presented to commissioners from containing graphic images. According to the SB 356 fact sheet, these excluded images can include crime scene photos, photographs of the victims after an assault, graphic images of children, and other images that could impact a commissioner’s understanding of the original crime committed. Families of crime victims asked the Board to reconsider their decision the next month, as it was seen as unfair to victims and the families of victims that not everything was going to be considered in parole cases. However this was denied by the Board.

As a result, Jones authored SB 356 for this session to make sure that commissioners have all necessary materials to make sound decisions at parole hearings, and to prevent violent criminals to not be wrongly released too early.

“Parole commissioners are, quite literally, making life and death decisions on behalf of our communities when they consider releasing criminals back onto our streets. There is no excuse for them to be ill-equipped or have important information hidden from them in that decision making process,” said Jones on Thursday. “Excluding photographs deemed by unelected bureaucrats as ‘graphic’ is absurd. If the crime was graphic, the photos would be graphic too, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be included. In fact, it speaks to why these commissions absolutely should see them.

“This is commonsense policy that needs to be implemented immediately and I see it as righting a wrong that’s occurred. If criminals and their advocates don’t want the parole board to see the heinous and graphic acts they committed, then they shouldn’t have committed them. It really is that simple.”

SB 356 received a high level of support from both victims organizations, as well as San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. As of Thursday evening, there has been no major opposition to come out against the bill, although it is expected that the parole board will likely raise objections to the bill based on their previous rejections of undoing the new rule.

“Those kinds of photos and documents and things are very important,” explained Jason Rodriguez, a Los Angeles crime victim advocate who assists the families of victims during parole hearings. “Yes, some can be very difficult to look at or read, but it shows the full scope of the crime. It’s one thing hearing about the severity of a crime. It’s another seeing it. A criminal can say they have changed after 7 years in prison, but if they were willing to do something so grisly or unspeakable to a victim that even premium cable shows or the internet won’t show it, then that shows how much they didn’t care when they committed the crime in the first place.

“That’s why they need to see all the evidence in front of them. Victims need to take priority.”