OPPOSE: SB 1262 – Crimes: Supervised Release

How does it align with yli’s values?

This bill represents an outdated, punitive attitude that departs from current best practices in parole release as well as the Board’s statutory mandate to normally grant parole unless one poses a current risk to public safety. Criminal history is a static, unchangeable factor from one’s past; for most people going through the parole hearing process, decades have elapsed since their last conviction. The evidence on risk and recidivism clearly demonstrates that criminal history — compared to recent and dynamic factors like demonstration of rehabilitation, post-release plans, and conduct in prison — lacks relevance to a person’s current risk of committing violence.

SB 1262 also requires the most severe penalty upon a third release violation, despite the fact that most probation violations are technical rather than new criminal offenses. These kinds of “technical violations” — for infractions as minor as missing an appointment with a supervision officer — account for over a quarter of all admissions to state and federal prisons. Revocation almost always results in additional incarceration, and in people receiving more severe sentences than those not on probation or other forms of supervision.

Studies show that Black people are disproportionately likely to have their probation revoked, and are over 4 times more likely than white people to be admitted to prison for a probation revocation. SB 1262 will lead to the disproportionate rearrests of Black and Brown people under community supervision and increased numbers of people in prison for technical violations of supervision conditions, reversing hard-earned progress in California towards decarceration and racial equity in our justice system.

yli partners with thousands of youth across the state, the majority of whom are low-income youth of color. We witness first hand the brutal impacts of our state’s harmful “justice” system on their lives, and are staunch advocates of measures that will reduce the criminalization and incarceration of our communities. This policy aligns with our Racial Justice Platform, which addresses the impacts of the carceral system on communities of color.

What is yli doing about it?

We have just submitted a letter OPPOSING this bill, and we are showing our support on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Who opposes this bill?

• Uncommon Law