From ‘three strikes’ to a second chance
Inmate likely first in state resentenced under new law
Kent Williams’ friends and family thought he would probably die in prison.
He didn’t hurt anybody — he broke into two houses and stole a car in 2003. Still, under California’s previous “three strikes” law, Williams was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison due to his prior felonies.
His life sentence for property crimes, fueled by addiction to crack cocaine, was equivalent to the prison time a murderer might typically receive today.
But after 16 years behind bars, Williams walked out of prison on June 4. He’s believed to be the first California inmate released under a new law that allows prosecutors to review sentences they consider
unjustly harsh.
“The Lord heard my cry,” Williams, 57, said. “You’re talking to a grateful man today. I’m just so grateful for another chance.”
He has since started rebuilding his life in San Diego. Williams reunited with his children, met three of his grandchildren for the first time, found a job with a temporary agency and registered for college.
Criminal justice experts say the case is an example of how state lawmakers can fix the harm caused by harsh sentencing laws enacted in the 1990s. They argue that strict sentencing rules have left many nonviolent offenders in prison long after they’ve been rehabilitated.
Williams was freed under a law that took effect Jan. 1. AB2942, by Assemblyman Phil Ting, allows district attorneys to review old cases and recommend lesser sentences to a judge.
Ting, DSan Francisco, said he sponsored the bill because California prisons are filled with thousands of people who were given overly harsh sentences under three strikes and old sentencing guidelines the state has since reversed.
“I know that we have so many folks in our corrections system who are serving time that is excessive,” he said. “They were convicted during a different time.”
Ting said state lawmakers now know that the tough-on-crime mindset was ineffective, that it doesn’t make society any safer to put people in prison for as long as possible.
Supporters of the law said overly harsh sentences also contribute to California’s overcrowded prisons. The state spends about $12 billion to incarcerate 129,000 people per year. By comparison, it spends about $17 billion on higher education.
“Keeping folks in prison isn’t free,” said Hillary Blout, executive director of For the People, an Oakland nonprofit that advocates for justice reforms. “Guess who pays to keep them in prison? We do.”
She estimated that releasing Williams early could save the state well over $1 million. California spends about $81,200 per year to incarcerate an inmate, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Blout’s group approached Ting with the idea for the new law. Blout, a former San Francisco prosecutor, said there are countless other people like Williams languishing in prisons long after they’ve treated their drug addiction.
The law provides a simple mechanism so more inmates can have their sentences reviewed. Under the previous law, only the Board of Parole Hearings and the head of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation could recommend a state prisoner’s sentence be reduced.
Now, the district attorney in the county where the inmate was sentenced can suggest a lesser sentence. Reform advocates said that’s important because the parole board is often hesitant to act.
Prosecutors who recommend resentencing must show that the inmates don’t pose a publicsafety risk, including evidence that they behaved well in prison and completed therapy programs.
In Williams’ case, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan recommended his sentence be reduced to time served, effectively shaving about 33 years off his life sentence. Williams otherwise would have been parole eligible in 2052, around age 90.
Stephan said the 50 yearsto life sentence Williams originally received wouldn’t apply to cases like his under the law today, given that his charges were property crimes driven by drug addiction.
“This would be the same sentence today for murder using a weapon,” she said. “This new law is in the interests of justice.”
Williams said he hopes his case will show how the law can give rehabilitated inmates a second chance.
He said he now spends much of his free time with his grandchildren, whom he said he’s thankful he can build relationships with while they’re young. He’s also reunited with his daughter after 26 years.
Even though others thought he would never get out of prison, Williams said he got clean from drugs, rediscovered his faith and worked hard to aid other inmates, praying that help would come.
“I just knew that one day that either a law was going to change or something would happen,” he said. “I’m a witness that if you do the right thing, the good will start overcoming the wrong that you’ve done.”