A Second Chance for Youth Offenders – Fair Sentencing For Youth Act
Carjacking. Murder. At 16 years old, these were Edel Gonzalez’s crimes. Sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1993, he never expected to take another breath outside of prison walls. Yet, on March 25, he walked out of prison, having been released on parole.
The reason? First, he had an exemplary prison record, having never been written up for a major infraction in more than 20 years of time served. More importantly, California’s laws have changed to fall in line with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that held the mandatory sentencing of a juvenile to life without the possibility of parole to be an unconstitutional practice. 1
California’s New Laws Relax Harsh Penalties for Youth Offenders
In 2012, California lawmakers passed the Fair Sentencing for Youth Act, which gave new guidelines for sentencing youthful offenders. In 2014, SB 260 went into effect, which required parole commissioners to consider whether juveniles had diminished capacity at the time of the commission of the crime. In light of this, the California Supreme Court ruled that a court must take into consideration the distinct status of juveniles when handing down sentences for crimes. 2 As Gonzalez’s case shows, the laws not only apply to sentencing in juvenile cases going forward, but also to persons who are currently serving time for crimes committed years or even decades ago.
Despite the new laws, earning a second chance at release is still not an easy process. To be resentenced and then released, you must petition to have a resentencing hearing. In the petition to the court, you must state your remorse, describe efforts you made in rehabilitation, and which factors weigh in favor of resentencing. If the court agrees, you will have a resentencing hearing with the court that imposed the original sentence.
Although the court has broad discretion, there are a number of important factors about the petitioner that the court will consider, such as any cognitive or developmental disabilities, prior psychological or physical trauma, and whether he or she participated in available educational or vocational programs. If the court decides to resentence you, it may impose any lesser available sentence, including making you eligible for parole after a certain number of years.
However, being declared eligible for parole is not the same as being placed on parole. He or she must still be given approval by the parole commission before being released. If the parole board’s approval is obtained, the governor has the option of denying parole to a prisoner under this new system. 3 To get through all of these steps, you will need to rely on the help of an experienced and relentlessly dedicated attorney.
Gonzalez is the first person to be released from prison under this new law. His case sets a roadmap for others who were sentenced to serve prison time for the rest of their lives for crimes they committed as teenagers.
“Instead of locking up teens and throwing away the key, California’s new laws require judges to consider not only that the person was a youth offender, but also the choices they’ve made since then,” said Elizabeth Calvin, senior child rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. 4
Wallin & Klarich’s Criminal Defense Attorneys Are Here to Help
If you or a loved one committed a crime as a juvenile, and were given a life sentence without the possibility of parole, there may be a path to your freedom. To obtain it, you will need the help of an experienced juvenile defense attorney. At Wallin & Klarich, our skilled team of attorneys has been successfully helping clients in sentence reduction cases for over 40 years. Our knowledgeable attorneys can help you now.
With offices in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Victorville, West Covina, San Diego, Torrance and Sherman Oaks., there is an experienced Wallin & Klarich criminal defense attorney available to help you no matter where you work or live.
Contact our offices today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245 for a free phone consultation. We will get through this together.
1. [Miller v. Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012).]↩
2. [People v. Gutierrez, 58 Cal.4th 1354, 324 P.3d 245 (2014).]↩
3. [Marisa Gerber, “California inmate’s parole reflects rethinking of life terms for youths,” The Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2015, available at http://www.latimes.com/local/crime/la-me-juvenile-lwop-20150325-story.html – page=1.]↩
4. [“California: First Release Under New Child Offender Laws,” Human Rights Watch, March 25, 2015, available at http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/03/25/california-first-release-under-new-child-offender-laws.]↩
