You Can't Make This Crap Up
The California Senate approved a measure Tuesday that would allow inmates sentenced to life without parole the opportunity to request an early release if their crimes were committed before the age of 26.
Senate Bill 672, the Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act, passed the Senate by a 24-11 party-line vote. The proposal now heads to the Assembly.
Republicans criticized their Democratic colleagues for passing the bill, saying the "soft-on-crime" proposal helps criminals and ignores victims.
Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones said Democrats "just opened the prison gates for over 1,600 cold-blooded killers."
"Democrat lawmakers across the aisle have proven time and time again they don’t care about the victim or their family," he said in a statement. "They don’t care about keeping the public safe. They care about defending killers."
"This bill isn’t about second chances for petty offenders. It grants opportunity for release to some of the most violent criminals," Sen. Kelly Seyarto said. "These individuals were sentenced to life without parole for crimes so extreme that the justice system deemed them beyond rehabilitation. Instead of weakening our justice system, we should be focusing on strengthening public safety and protecting Californians."
"We’re not talking about children who committed a ‘youthful indiscretion’; these are adults who committed planned murders with special circumstances," she said. "We say kill this bill, not free these killers."
In a post on X, State Assembly Republican Caucus press secretary George Andrews labeled the legislation a "get-out-of-prison plan" for people convicted of murder before age 26.
Crime Victims United, in a letter to Rubio, wrote that the bill "threatens public safety and ignores the rights of crime victims and their families, as well as the efforts of local law enforcement, district attorneys, jurors, and the legal processes and resources that resulted in their conviction and sentence."
Senate Bill 672, the Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act, passed the Senate by a 24-11 party-line vote. The proposal now heads to the Assembly.
Republicans criticized their Democratic colleagues for passing the bill, saying the "soft-on-crime" proposal helps criminals and ignores victims.
Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones said Democrats "just opened the prison gates for over 1,600 cold-blooded killers."
"Democrat lawmakers across the aisle have proven time and time again they don’t care about the victim or their family," he said in a statement. "They don’t care about keeping the public safe. They care about defending killers."
"This bill isn’t about second chances for petty offenders. It grants opportunity for release to some of the most violent criminals," Sen. Kelly Seyarto said. "These individuals were sentenced to life without parole for crimes so extreme that the justice system deemed them beyond rehabilitation. Instead of weakening our justice system, we should be focusing on strengthening public safety and protecting Californians."
"We’re not talking about children who committed a ‘youthful indiscretion’; these are adults who committed planned murders with special circumstances," she said. "We say kill this bill, not free these killers."
In a post on X, State Assembly Republican Caucus press secretary George Andrews labeled the legislation a "get-out-of-prison plan" for people convicted of murder before age 26.
Crime Victims United, in a letter to Rubio, wrote that the bill "threatens public safety and ignores the rights of crime victims and their families, as well as the efforts of local law enforcement, district attorneys, jurors, and the legal processes and resources that resulted in their conviction and sentence."
70-79, M
