A coalition of victims' families, prosecutors, and victim advocates has filed a lawsuit challenging new California regulations that they argue would make it easier for individuals convicted of violent crimes to be released from prison. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, targets regulations created by the Board of Parole Hearings that critics contend violate state law and victims' rights.
The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, an organization advocating for public safety, is leading the legal challenge. According to the foundation, the new rules establish a process for inmates who have served at least 25 years to seek a sentence recall through the courts or a gubernatorial commutation. This could make thousands of inmates eligible for review, including those serving life without parole for severe offenses such as the murder of law enforcement officers or children.
"Life without the possibility of parole should mean exactly that," stated Anne Marie Schubert, head of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation and former Sacramento County District Attorney, at a press conference. "Our family has been sentenced to a lifetime without her."
Among those represented in the lawsuit are family members of murder victims. Daniel Cantu, father of Sandra Cantu, an 8-year-old girl murdered in 2009 by Melissa Huckaby, spoke about his family's ongoing grief. Huckaby pleaded guilty to the murder and received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
The lawsuit alleges that the new regulations infringe upon state procedural law and Marsy's Law, a voter-approved 2008 initiative that enhanced the legal rights of crime victims, including their right to be notified of all legal proceedings and parole decisions. "The Board of Parole Hearings... has taken it upon itself to expand this recommendation authority into a full-blown system of reviews and hearings paralleling and resembling the system of parole hearings -- the system that the people of California voted to curb in Marsy’s Law," the lawsuit states.
The regulations were adopted on July 9 and are set to take effect in October. A spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state department overseeing the parole board, told Courthouse News Service that the department could not comment on the pending lawsuit but defended the regulations. The spokesperson stated that the regulations do not result in anyone being released from prison, emphasizing that they are merely recommendations and that final decisions rest with the courts and the governor.
Governor Gavin Newsom's office also responded to the lawsuit, asserting in a statement to ABC 10 that state law already grants the parole board the authority to recommend criminals for resentencing or clemency. "California believes protecting public safety means reducing future victimization through evidence-based policies -- not political rhetoric," the governor's office said.
The parole board's actions have drawn significant public attention this year, particularly concerning the release of individuals convicted of child predation through the state's elderly parole program. Despite this controversy, Democratic lawmakers signaled in May their intention to approve Governor Newsom's reappointment of five board members.