State can proceed with early releases

As crime continues to make headlines in California, state prison officials got the go-ahead Thursday to implement rules that allow for the potential early release of repeat offenders with serious and violent criminal histories. The change came after a superior court judge reversed her own temporary restraining order from last month, dealing a blow to the 28 district attorneys — including Sacramento County District Attorney and attorney general candidate Anne Marie Schubert — who had challenged the rules, arguing they would permit the early release of people convicted of domestic violence, human trafficking, animal cruelty and other crimes. According to the state prison department, about 1,500 inmates in minimum-security facilities serving time for a nonviolent second strike will now be eligible to earn enough good conduct credits to reduce their sentences by two-thirds instead of one-half.

Vicky Waters, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: The ruling “clears the way for the Department to implement regulations that incentivize incarcerated people to participate in positive rehabilitative activities and avoid negative behavior.” Meanwhile, after an extensive manhunt and $250,000 reward, a transient man with a lengthy criminal history was charged with murder Friday for fatally stabbing 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer while she worked in a Los Angeles furniture store. The story made national headlines, prompting Los Angeles Times columnist Erika Smith to ask why the fatal shooting of Tioni Theus — a 16-yearold Black girl and sex trafficking victim whose body was left on the on-ramp to the 110 Freeway — didn’t get similar levels of attention. — Emily Hoeven,

CalMatters