BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                             Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:    AB 672        Hearing Date:     July 14, 2015    
          
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          |Author:    |Jones-Sawyer                                         |
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          |Version:   |June 1, 2015                                         |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|JRD                                                  |
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          Subject:  Inmates: Wrongful Convictions: Assistance Upon Release  
 
                                          



          HISTORY

          Source:   California Attorneys for Criminal Justice

          Prior Legislation:AB 2308 (Stone) - Chapter 607, Statutes of  
          2014
                         SB 618 (Leno) - Chapter 800, Statutes of 2013  

          Support:  Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs;  
                    California Association of Code Enforcement Officers;  
                    California College and University Police Chiefs  
                    Association; California Narcotics Officers  
                    Association; Los Angeles Police Protective League;  
                    Riverside Sheriffs Association 

          Opposition:None known

          Assembly Floor Vote:                 79 - 0


          PURPOSE








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          The purpose of this legislation is to require the California  
          Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to provide  
          transitional services to wrongfully convicted persons upon their  
          release, as specified.

          Existing law requires CDCR and the Department of Motor Vehicles  
          (DMV) to ensure that all eligible inmates released from prison  
          have valid identification cards issued.  (Penal Code § 3007.05.)

          Existing law requires CDCR to establish a case management  
          reentry pilot program for offenders who are likely to benefit  
          from case management reentry strategies designed to address  
          homelessness, joblessness, mental disorders, and developmental  
          disabilities among offenders transitioning from prison into the  
          community.  (Penal Code § 3016.)

          Existing law requires the court to inform a person whose  
          conviction has been set aside based upon a determination that  
          the person was factually innocent of the charge of the  
          availability of indemnity for persons erroneously convicted and  
          the time limitations for presenting those claims.  (Penal Code §  
          851.86.)


          Existing law states that if a person has secured a declaration  
          of factual innocence, the finding shall be sufficient grounds  
          for compensation by the Victim Compensation and Government  
          Claims Board (VCGCB).  Upon application the VCGCB shall, without  
          a hearing, recommend to the Legislature that an appropriation be  
          made.  (Penal Code § 851.865.)

          Existing law provides that any person who, having been convicted  
          of any crime against the state amounting to a felony and  
          imprisoned in the state prison for that conviction, is granted a  
          pardon by the Governor for the reason that the crime with which  
          he or she was charged was either not committed at all or, if  
          committed, was not committed by him or her, or who, being  
          innocent of the crime with which he or she was charged for  
          either of the foregoing reasons, shall have served the term or  
          any part thereof for which he or she was imprisoned, may, as  
          specified, present a claim against the state to the VCGCB for  
          the pecuniary injury sustained by him or her through the  








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          erroneous conviction and imprisonment.  (Penal Code § 4900.)

          Existing law gives erroneously convicted and pardoned  
          individuals two years to file a claim against the state.  (Penal  
          Code § 4901.)

          Existing law sets the rate of compensation at $100 per day of  
          incarceration served subsequent to the claimant's conviction,  
          and specifies that this appropriation shall not be considered  
          gross income for state tax purposes.  (Penal Code § 4904.)

          This bill requires CDCR to provide transitional services to a  
          wrongfully convicted person, including housing assistance, job  
          training, and mental health services, as applicable.

          This bill states that the extent of the services is to be  
          determined by CDCR.

          This bill specifies that the services shall be provided for a  
          period of not less than six months and not more than one year  
          from the date of release.

          This bill prohibits charging a fee for the application of an  
          original, renewal, or replacement driver's license or  
          identification card issued to any wrongfully-convicted person  
          released from prison or county jail within the previous six  
          months.  
            
                    RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION

          For the past eight years, this Committee has scrutinized  
          legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential  
          impact on prison overcrowding.  Mindful of the United States  
          Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the  
          state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care  
          to its inmate population and the related issue of prison  
          overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a  
          content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that  
          the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison  
          overcrowding.   

          On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to  
          reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of  








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          design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:   

                 143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
                 141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
                 137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016. 

          In February of this year the administration reported that as "of  
          February 11, 2015, 112,993 inmates were housed in the State's 34  
          adult institutions, which amounts to 136.6% of design bed  
          capacity, and 8,828 inmates were housed in out-of-state  
          facilities.  This current population is now below the  
          court-ordered reduction to 137.5% of design bed capacity." (  
          Defendants' February 2015 Status Report In Response To February  
          10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman  
          v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).

          While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison  
          population, the state now must stabilize these advances and  
          demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place  
          the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently  
          demanded" by the court.  (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and  
          Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December  
          31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,  
          Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14).  The Committee's  
          consideration of bills that may impact the prison population  
          therefore will be informed by the following questions:

              Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed  
               to reducing the prison population;
              Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety  
               or criminal activity for which there is no other  
               reasonable, appropriate remedy;
              Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly  
               dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there  
               is no other reasonably appropriate sanction; 
              Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or  
               legislative drafting error; and
              Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are  
               proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other  
               reasonably appropriate remedy.


          COMMENTS








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          1.  Need for Legislation 

          According to the author: 

          Wrongful convictions are occurring with more frequency in  
          our criminal justice system. With the technological  
          developments of DNA evidence, and a growing number of  
          Innocence Projects throughout the country, persons  
          wrongfully convicted of crimes are receiving a second  
          chance at life.  According to an LA Times special report,  
          the number of people exonerated each year in the Unites  
          States has nearly tripled over the last two decades. A  
          total of 1,493 wrongfully convicted inmates have been set  
          free since the first DNA tests in 1989.

          However, after sometimes decades in prison a wrongfully  
          convicted person is released from detention, they are  
          released back into the community without any compensation  
          or reentry services. By contrast, parolees often receive  
          assistance with various necessities such as food and  
          clothing vouchers, benefits, job training and housing  
          placements. Yet, for wrongfully convicted persons, they are  
          released without such basic necessities.

          For example, in 2011, Obie Anthony, after being wrongfully  
          convicted, was released from detention after spending 17  
          years in prison. During his court case in 1994, the  
          prosecution failed to disclose that the key witness had  
          received a "deal" 
          with the prosecutor in exchange for the testimony.  The  
          witness eventually recanted and Mr. Obie was released from  
          custody. Mr. Obie was released with the clothes on his back  
          and a few dollars in his pocket, despite being in prison  
          for 17 years. 

          Mr. Anthony was the inspiration for this bill. If it was  
          not for his loving family who helped him to readjust after  
          prison, he would probably not be here today.  

          2.  California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice  
          Report and  
               Recommendations  








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          A 2008 report by the California Commission on the Fair  
          Administration of Justice addresses some of the obstacles faced  
          by persons who have established their innocence after conviction  
          of a crime in gaining access to post-conviction relief,  
          achieving reintegration into society, and gaining compensation  
          for their wrongful convictions.  As to reintegration in  
          particular, the report states:

               Ironically, even the limited resources made available  
               to convicted felons who have served their sentences  
               and are released from prison are not available to  
               those whose convictions have been set aside.  Parolees  
               are released to the community in which they were  
               arrested or convicted; services such as counseling and  
               assistance in locating housing or jobs are limited to  
               those who remain under parole supervision.  But those  
               who are being released because their conviction is set  
               aside, including those who have been found innocent,  
               receive none of these services.  Those who have been  
               released back into the community after successfully  
               challenging their convictions, whether innocent or  
               not, face the same obstacles encountered by parolees,  
               and more.  Many are afflicted with post-traumatic  
               stress disorder, or other psychological damage  
               resulting from their wrongful incarceration over a  
               long period of time. Of the States with compensation  
               laws, only three - Massachusetts, Louisiana and  
               Vermont - provide for the costs of medical and  
               psychological care.  The New York Times recently  
               gathered information on 137 of the 206 imprisoned  
               individuals who have been found innocent by DNA  
               testing from 1989 through 2007.  The reporters also  
               researched the compensation claims of all 206.  They  
               found that at least 79 of these persons (40%) received  
               no compensation at all.  More than half of those who  
               did receive compensation waited two years or longer  
               after exoneration for the first payment.  Few received  
               any government services after their release.  They  
               typically left prison with less help - prerelease  
               counseling, job training, substance-abuse treatment,  
               housing assistance and other services - than some  
               states offer to paroled prisoners.  Most found that  








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               authorities were slow to wipe the convictions from  
               their records, if they did so at all.  Even those who  
               were well educated and fully employed at the time of  
               their wrongful conviction had difficulty finding work  
               after their release. Roberts & Stanton,  A Long Road  
               Back After Exoneration, and Justice is Slow to Make  
               Amends, New York Times, Nov. 25, 2007; Santos &  
               Roberts, Putting a Price on a Wrongful Conviction, New  
               York Times, Dec. 2, 2007.

               The Commission recommends that services to assist with  
               reintegration into society be available to all those  
               released from prison after their judgment of  
               conviction has been reversed, vacated or set aside.   
               This would include assistance in locating housing, a  
               cash allowance, clothing, and employment counseling.

           (Report and Recommendations on Remedies, California Commission  
          on the Fair Administration of Justice , pp. 6-8,  
          http://www.ccfaj.org/documents/reports/incompentence/  
          official/REPORT%20 AND% 20RECOMMENDATIONS%20ON%20REMEDIES.pdf .)

          This legislation helps to implement these recommendations by  
          requiring CDCR to provide transitional services to a wrongfully  
          convicted person, including housing assistance, job training,  
          and mental health services, the extent of which will be  
          determined by CDCR. 

          3.  Argument in Support

          According to the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the  
          sponsor of this bill: 

               Wrongful convictions are sadly becoming more frequent  
               in our criminal justice system. With the technological  
               developments of DNA evidence, and a growing number of  
               Innocence Projects throughout the state, persons  
               convicted and incarcerated of crimes they did not  
               commit are receiving a second chance at life.   
               According to an LA Times special report, the number of  
               people exonerated each year in the Unites States has  
               nearly tripled over the last two decades, according to  
               the National Registry of Exonerations. A total of  








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               1,493 wrongfully convicted inmates have been set free  
               since the first DNA tests in 1989.

               However, once a person is released from state prison  
               as wrongfully convicted, they are released back into  
               the community without any compensation or reentry  
               services. By contrast, parolees often receive  
               assistance with various necessities such as food and  
               clothing vouchers, benefits, job training and housing  
               placement. For persons released after being wrongfully  
               convicted and incarcerated, these persons are released  
               without such necessities, identification cards or  
               drivers licenses, because they are no longer in  
               custody of the state. 

               According to the University of Michigan's National  
               Registry of Exonerations, which provides detailed  
               information about every known exoneration in the  
               United States since 1989, has documented the  
               exonerations in California. Since 2010, 24 persons  
               have been exonerated in California - an average of  
               just under 5 exonerees per year. In 2010 and 2014,  
               there were only two exonerees.  Although not many  
               people would be affected by the bill, this will help  
               those that deserve assistance. 

               In 2011, Obie Anthony spent 17 years in prison after  
               being wrongfully convicted when it was uncovered that  
               a prosecutor failed to disclose that the key witness  
               had received a "deal" with the prosecutor in exchange  
               for the testimony.  The witness eventually recanted  
               and Anthony was released from custody. Obie was  
               released only with the clothes on his back, a few  
               dollars in his pocket, and somehow expected to  
               successfully transition back into the community.

               The criminal justice system stole precious years from  
               Obie; it is an unfortunate reality of our criminal  
               just system that no services are provided to help  
               Obie, and others wrongfully convicted. Although there  
               is a compensation process, it takes months or years to  
               receive compensation. The critical reentry time is the  
               first few days and weeks upon release. The California  








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               Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations should,  
               at the very least, provide essential reentry services  
               to persons wrongfully convicted.

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