California

FAMM releases statement on compassionate release bill in California

For media inquiries:
Tripp Laino, 202-999-4273
tlaino@famm.org

FAMM releases statement on compassionate release bill in California

SACRAMENTO – FAMM General Counsel Mary Price released the following statement following the California Senate Public Safety Committee’s hearing on Assembly Bill 960 – which passed the Assembly in 2021.

“This bill includes reforms urgently needed to ensure California’s compassionate release system can safely release terminally ill and gravely debilitated people from the state’s prisons,” Price said. “At a time when Californians are concerned about crime, California should not continue to use finite resources to incarcerate sick and dying people who do not pose a threat to public safety.”

 AB 960 will expand compassionate release eligibility criteria, streamline the program by removing the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from the compassionate release decision-making process, and ensure all medically eligible incarcerated people have their day in court to determine whether they can safely be resentenced.

For more than three decades, FAMM has united the voices of affected families, the formerly incarcerated, and a range of stakeholders and advocates to fight for a more fair and effective justice system. FAMM has led the fight to reform extreme mandatory sentencing laws and to promote rehabilitation and dignity for all people in prison, 94 percent of whom will return to our neighborhoods one day.

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FAMM is a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safely reduce incarceration, save taxpayer dollars, and keep families together. Founded in 1991, FAMM has secured bold sentencing and prison reform across the country while elevating the voices of directly impacted individuals and families.