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Gov. Gavin Newsom will be proposing a new parole board process on Monday that will allow more inmates to clear the path to shorten their sentences.
The new regulations effectively codify the process that Newsom launched two weeks ago. He directed a parole board hearing to complete an assessment of whether brothers Eric and Lyle Menendez pose an unreasonable risk to public safety if they were to be sentenced to lifelong sentences for their parents’ 1989 murder.
The brothers submitted a generous application to Newsom’s office last year, saying the governor would make a decision on the request after an expected board investigation within 90 days.
Newsom is already able to make enforcement decisions on the Clemency application, but the governor can in most cases reduce his sentences by qualifying certain inmates for parole. At that point, the parole hearing will conduct a risk assessment to reach an agreement regarding the governor’s decision.
The proposed changes will appoint the Parole Board to begin the investigation at the start of the process. From there, the board will hold a hearing before submitting recommendations, report to the governor’s office on the possibility of leniency, and report to the potential courts of potential resting.
“Justice may be blind, but we should not be in the dark when we decide if someone is rehabilitated, safe and ready to leave prison,” Newsom said in a statement. “This new process will help ensure that victims and district attorneys are part of the commute process and improve public safety by front-loading risk assessments, as in Menendez’s case.”
Book a photo of Eric Menendez, left, Lyle Menendez.
(California Department of Corrections via the AP)
In his six years in office, Newsom received thousands of generous applications from prisoners. Newsom’s Office said that, regarding the governor, it has allowed a total of 208 amnesty and 141 commutes.
However, critics say the process is opaque and only touches a limited pool of applicants.
According to Newsom’s Office, the updated process will likely take several months and will require final approval of the administrative law after the public comment period.
The California Supreme Court is responsible for approving commutes for people convicted of multiple felony.
Jennifer Schaffer, who retired last year as executive officer of the Parole Hearing Committee, said the updated guidelines would follow a comprehensive risk assessment used by the committee’s parole hearing, including former observers, correctional officers, criminologists and psychologists.
On the left, Eric Menendez and his brother, Lyle, are located in front of the Beverly Hills home.
(Ronald Soble / Los Angeles Times)
A rigorous scrutiny, including the board’s prison practice records and mental health assessments, is among other factors, but parole is extremely difficult.
State data shows that the board granted parole in 2023 at only 35% of 4,072 hearings. Meanwhile, a 2023 survey by the Times found dozens of people remaining in prison despite receiving generosity from the governor.
“This is an opportunity. It’s not a release,” Shaffer says. The updated process is designed to provide data to both the courts and the governor “to allow for the most informed decisions.”
The governor’s change could also help bridge the gap in inequality among those who committed similar crimes but received different texts, Shaffer said. Still, she added: It is extremely difficult for victims and survivors. ”
The proposal represents Heidi Rummel, who directs the post-conviction justice project at the USC Gould School of Law, is still just a “small step in the right direction.”
“It doesn’t give anyone the right to release,” Rammel said. “But I think it will bring some hope and motivate rehabilitation.”
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