As a result of a lawsuit brought by inmates of California State prisons, the United States Supreme Court ordered the state of California to reduce its prison population by more than 30,000 inmates over a three-year period of time. In response the California State Legislature passed The Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011 (AB 109). The goal of AB 109 was to transfer responsibility for incarceration and supervision of certain non-violent, low-risk offenders from the State to its 58 counties. This month marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation of AB 109, but it is nothing to celebrate.
Lisa Gilvary’s daughter Katie Lung
Up and down the state, the release of so-called non-serious, non-violent, non-sexual, “low-risk” inmates has been marked by dozens of reports of murders, rapes, attempted murder, kidnapping, stabbing and other crimes committed by inmates released early at the county levels as a result of AB 109.
Accused killer Michael Cockrell
On Monday, September 10, 2012, 26-year-old Michael Cockrell repeatedly stabbed Lisa Gilvary, 46, and her roommate, Jennifer Gonzalez, 20, during the course of a home invasion burglary. He then laid in wait and viscously attacked Fresno police officer Jonathan Linzey, 32, when he came to their aid. Ms. Gilvary died at the scene and Cockrell is now facing a possible death sentence. In March 2012, Cockrell was released from prison after serving only six-months of a three-year sentence under AB 109.
The state says that AB 109 only applies to ‘low risk” offenders, so it’s okay, but Michael Cockrell was considered a “low risk” offender! I can assure you that the State and I have very different definitions of “low risk.” It’s no wonder AB 109 has been called an abysmal failure, a disaster, and a deception that is dumping dangerous felons at our doorsteps.
The California legislature needs to repeal AB 109. The State needs to drastically reduce the type of offenders it allows to be shifted to the county level. The state must take an inmates or parolees criminal history into consideration when determining who is eligible for AB 109. County jails are simply not equipped to handle many of the dangerous, repeat offenders AB 109 has sent them. Nor should we, as parents, have to worry about these same dangerous criminals being released early from overcrowded jails into our neighborhoods.
Crime exacts a heavy toll: on government, on society as a whole, but especially on victims. The cost of crime has three dimensions: a dollar amount calculated by adding up property losses, productivity losses, and medical bills. An amount less easily quantifiable includes the forms of pain, emotional trauma, and risk of death from victimization. And finally a dimension that cannot be quantified – the loss of life, and the trickle-down effect of extreme trauma or even death on the families of victims, their friends and communities held hostage by the threat of fear.
In 1996 the National Institute of Justice calculated the cost of crime. A single murder costs society $2,940,000, a rape at $86,500, and a robbery with injury at $19,000. Make no mistake: this is a crime tax that we all pay into one way or another.
A fundamental duty of government is to protect society, to ensure that we walk safe streets and that the weak among us are not threatened by fear, intimidation and violence. Every time that a ‘so called’ nonviolent felon who has been released onto the streets commits an act of violence government has failed in that duty. When our government turns its back on the fundamental duty to protect innocent citizens, its skewed priorities must be revealed and it must be held accountable for its actions.
There is a much larger problem here. People commit crimes and those crimes that involve the loss of life or injury should not be forgivable I’m sure we can agree. But those other criminals the non violent are placed in hell treated like animals are forced to commit crimes in prison that they would never consider on the street. There programmed to live in a kill take environment. And then released without any reprogramming. And on top of that they cannot be hired they are disrespected and givin no chance for rehabilitation. That my friend’s is not the fault of lawyersor judges. That is the fault of everyday. People who seem to believethat no one is worthanything. I praythall nay sayers here never loose Ur head or are in the wrong place at the wrong time and have to sit on the other side of the fence . I assure you you’ll want to be givin a second chance and will fail to receive it. It takes one person to make a differance what type of person are you
Also use the extra money to relocate them and don’t send them back to the area where they learned these crimes.
I do agree some can be released safely. Minior asults with regret, /anyone with possion of majuawana or less than a lb. These type of people committed no violence. All non-violent criminals should be released. The state is very confused what “non violent” means. Also when you put non-violent in with vilent to survive they become violent. Also less than an ounce let them got smash the pot and move on.
ABolish 109
Why dont we the people petition this stating we the public say we need to repeal or recall that assembly bill
Do they really need to release murders and rapists. Why don’t the put them on a slow boat to somewhere?
when the accountability and the deterrent has been eliminated, this is what happens, and this begins upon arrest, free bond, criminal welfare, free legal council, by the constitution, lazy prosecutors, and what I mean by that, is a plea bargain , and there is so much more, the judicial system continues to band aid the problems, and at the end of the day have only accomplished rolling down hill straight to Hell ! I have been a professional bail agent for 30 years, and have had a front row seat to the criminal justice system, they may be educated with law degrees, but they dont have an ounce of common sense !!