SB 672: “The Youth Rehabilitation
and Opportunity Act”
Overview of the Bill
This bill creates hope, a real opportunity to work toward rehabilitation, and the possibility of parole to youth who were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP), which is a sentence to die in prison.
Existing law excludes 18- through 25-year-olds with LWOP from Youth Offender Parole, and this does not make sense. Numerous justices, both on the California Supreme and Appellate Courts, have called for the legislature to correct the Youth Offender Parole law and include 18- to 25-year-olds with LWOP in Youth Offender Parole.
It applies only to people who were 25 years old or younger at the time of their crime and who have spent a minimum of 25 years in prison with the sentence of life without parole. In the 25th year of their incarceration, they will be eligible for a Youth Offender Parole hearing, but will only be released if the Board and the Governor conclude they can safely be paroled. There is no guarantee of release at any point.
Senate Bill 672 would correct state law and include in the existing Youth Offender Parole statute youth ages 18 through 25 who have actual LWOP.
California law already provides a Youth Offender Parole hearing for youth age 25 and under who were sentenced to de facto LWOP/long prison terms and includes youth under age 18 sentenced to LWOP. Youth Offender Parole passed in 2013 with the recognition that young people’s immaturity is relevant to their criminal behavior, and that they have tremendous capacity to change.
How SB 672 Would Work
While current Youth Offender Parole law applies to most people who were 25 or younger at the time of a crime, it leaves behind people with LWOP who were 18 through 25.
In each case, the Parole Board commissioners and Governor will separately consider evidence about the crime and rehabilitation, as well as the position of victims, prosecutors, and law enforcement.
Under SB 672, certain people who were 25 or younger at the time of a crime that resulted in the sentence of life without parole (LWOP) will be incarcerated for 25 years and then be eligible for a Youth Offender Parole hearing.
Whether a person gets parole always comes down to one question: Would the person be a danger if paroled? Only if a person does not pose an unreasonable risk of danger will parole be granted, and the Governor can reverse any decision.
Some people will not be eligible under SB 672: Existing law excludes from Youth Offender Parole people convicted of sexually violent crimes or sentenced under “3-Strikes” laws. This bill maintains those exclusions, and additionally excludes from eligibility people who were 18 through 25 and convicted of the murder of a law enforcement officer.
The Board of Parole Hearings commissioners determine if a person has demonstrated genuine change. Convincing the commissioners is tough: California’s grant rate for people eligible for parole is 14%.