One-third of inmates from Sacramento serve less than half original sentence, DA says

Nearly one-third of inmates sent to prison from Sacramento County in recent years ended up serving less than half their original sentence, with some serving far less than that, according to new figures released Wednesday by Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert.

Schubert, who is suing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation along with 44 other district attorneys over good conduct credit rules put into place in May, said figures her office received show that more than 1,300 of the 4,070 inmates sentenced in Sacramento and later released between January 2019 and May 17, 2021, served less than half their original sentence.

The figures were compiled after Schubert’s office filed a Public Records Act request with CDCR as prosecutors pursue their lawsuit seeking to halt the “emergency” good-time credit policies that took effect May 1 and could speed up the release of as many as 76,000 inmates.

Schubert, who is running for state attorney general, had asked a court to issue a preliminary injunction halting the use of the credits and return to its previous good conduct rules.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge rejected that effort last month, but wrote that there is a “likelihood” that prosecutors may ultimately prevail in the lawsuit.

CDCR has opposed the lawsuit, contending that the new credit rules were written under authority granted by voters when they passed Proposition 57 in 2016.

Prosecutors contend that emergency efforts to reduce crowding in California prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic are allowing the release of inmates who should not be on the streets.

But one prominent inmate advocate argued Wednesday that early releases for good conduct is not new, and that if Schubert’s lawsuit succeeded fewer inmates would participate in rehabilitation programs to reduce the time they spend incarcerated.

“For the last 40 years, people in prison have been earning credit toward their release for good behavior,” said Don Specter, executive director of the Prison Law Office in Berkeley that advocates for the rights of inmates. “Rewarding people for good behavior makes the prisons a safer place for both the people who live and the people who work there.

“All of these people would be released anyway, and there’s no evidence that releasing people early creates more crime. Eliminating these credits would reduce incentives for rehabilitative programming and increase the potential for more crime.”

The good conduct credit plan that began May 1 gives inmates convicted of violent crimes one day of good conduct credit for every two days served instead of one day of credit for every four days, CDCR says.

Nonviolent second- and third-strikers who previously earned one day of credit for every three served get one day of credit for every day served, CDCR says.

The emergency rules also allow inmates to get to parole board hearings sooner than under the old regulations.

The implementation of the emergency credits has not been without trouble, as numerous inmates - including many in fire camps - saw their projected release dates pushed back by months or even longer.

CDCR says it is working to correct computation errors that led to such results.

Meanwhile, Schubert’s office offered examples in a news release Wednesday of what it termed “egregious examples” of early release for some Sacramento inmates.

One involved Lawrence Pela, who was convicted of 11 counts of robbery using a firearm to hold up Game Stops and Circle Ks while wearing a ski mask. Pela was sentenced in November 2009 to 46 years and 8 months, but was released after 12 years and one month, 26% percent of his sentence, Schubert’s office said.

Another involved George Wilson, who was convicted of felony domestic violence and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in April 2007 after an attack on a woman who was stabbed and hit and told “you deserve it” as she screamed, Schubert’s office said.

Wilson was sentenced in February 2008 to 40 years to life, but was released after 13 years and 9 months, 35% of his original sentence, her office said.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 11:58 AM with the headline "One-third of inmates from Sacramento serve less than half original sentence, DA says."