Placer DA responds to CDCR transparency bill being held in committee

ROSEVILLE, Calif. -- Placer County District Attorney's Office responds to the Assembly Public Safety Committee holding their sponsored bill, Assembly Bill 1260, which would increase transparency surrounding CDCR's ambigous early release process. 

"Our office presented AB 1260 to the California Legislature, which would require CDCR to alert DA’s and local law enforcement when they release inmates more than six months early from their initial sentence, as well as explain why inmates are eligible to be released early at all," said Placer Couty District Attorney Morgan Gire. "The question is simple: do victims have the right to know when their aggressor is being released and why they are being released much earlier than the court sentence? The answer from the committee was ‘no’ and the bill was voted down. 

"The committee offered an opportunity for reconsideration and presented amendments in order for the bill to pass at a later date that merely require CDCR to update their website with the correct release dates for inmates. While this may continue the broader conversation, we firmly believe that CDCR should already be updating their website with correct information.  Despite the committee chair agreeing that CDCR is desperately lacking in accountability and transparency, these suggested amendments will not address the lack of clarity behind these credit earning programs. We are mindful of the benefits of credit-earning opportunities within CDCR but not when ambiguity and a lack of transparency cause further trauma to victims and survivors of crime.

"We will continue to pursue every avenue available to require CDCR to be transparent and accountable in their release determinations."