FAMM began working in California in 2021 to repeal the states mandatory minimums for a number of drug offenses. FAMM supported the successful passage of SB 73 by Sen. Scott Wiener which eliminated mandatory minimums for certain drug offenses while creating a safety valve for others. Read our summary of SB 73 to learn more.
In 2022, FAMM was a co-sponsor of AB 960, which was passed by the legislature and took effect on January 2023. AB 960 has vastly improved California’s Compassionate Release process by streamlining the decision making process, expanding medical eligibility, and ensuring every medically eligible individual receives their day in court. Read a summary of AB 960 here.
In 2023, FAMM will be supporting two reforms to increase opportunities for second chances in California. The first bill would provide people sentenced to life without parole or given the death penalty the opportunity for resentencing after 20 years if they were sentenced prior to June 5, 1990. The second bill would provide most people sentenced to indeterminate life sentence an opportunity for parole after serving 15 years if they committed their offense before their 26th birthday.
Questions? Contact Daniel Landsman, FAMM’s Deputy Director of Policy, at dlandsman@famm.org for more information.
2023 Priority Legislation
This bill would provide for judicial review for individuals serving life without parole or sentenced to death for offenses committed before June 5, 1990, and who have served at least 20 years of their sentence. Courts will review evidence of mitigating factors or reduced risk of violence consistent with changes in California law enacted in intervening years. In these cases, judges will have the discretion to leave the sentence unchanged or to resentence the person to a lesser sentence.