Critics of a year-old law shifting responsibility for thousands of convicted felons to the counties have seized on the brutal beating of a San Joaquin County woman – allegedly by a man released from jail just days before the attack – as evidence that the law is eroding public safety. But criminal justice experts say that understanding the law's effects will take more time and more information than a few headline-grabbing cases can provide.
Parolee Raoul Leyva allegedly beat Brandy Marie Arreola, then 20, into a coma in April. Shortly before the attack, Leyva had been sentenced to jail for 100 days for violating the conditions of his parole. He was released after two days because of overcrowding in the jail. Before the passage last year of the criminal justice reform law – AB109 – he would have been subject to prison time, rather than jail, for the parole violation.
Critics of prison realignment, as AB109 is commonly known, say crime rates are surging because fewer people such as Leyva are going to prison, and some may be getting out of jail early because of overcrowding. Leyva's last prison term was for motor vehicle theft, a nonviolent offense. Crimes classified as nonviolent are now met with jail or community supervision instead of prison. Violations of parole by nonviolent offenders also mean jail time rather than prison for the offender.
The law's enactment followed a court order to reduce the state's prison population. The prisons were at double their capacity at the time of the order. Since then, the prison population has dropped by more than 26,000 inmates.
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