California district attorneys raise alarm over early release of violent criminals

District Attorneys challenge early release of 76,000 state prison inmates

ROSEVILLE, Calif. – Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire announced that he joined Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and 40 elected District Attorneys across California, in filing a petition with the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) requesting the repeal of temporary emergency regulations awarding additional credits to more than 76,000 state prison inmates.

The regulations were passed under a claim of an emergency and first made public on Friday April 30, 2021, at 3 p.m. These regulations would result in the early release of some of California’s most violent criminals.

“Our community, our victims and survivors, and their families deserve an opportunity to be heard before such sweeping changes are made.”

Morgan Gire, Placer County District Attorney

In adopting these regulations, and claiming an emergency, the CDCR Secretary stated these regulations were necessary to comply with “the direction outlined in the Governor’s Budget Summary” presented a year ago on May 14, 2020. By invoking an emergency, the traditional regulatory scheme and transparent public comment period was bypassed.

The administrative law petition is often the first step in seeking a formal court order declaring the regulations unlawful. If the emergency regulations are nullified by a court, CDCR would be forced to pass the regulations in the traditional manner, requiring the State’s Office of Administrative Law to provide greater transparency and public input.

District Attorney Morgan Gire stated, “The wholesale shortening of sentences and the early release of dangerous and violent inmates puts our community at risk. To do so under the guise of an emergency and deprive our community of the opportunity to express our concerns is unacceptable. This petition asks CDCR to repeal these regulations and to follow the rules. Our community, our victims and survivors, and their families deserve an opportunity to be heard before such sweeping changes are made.”

View the Letter to the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation below.