Earlier this month, May 14th, the California Senate passed Senate Bill 1393, authored by Senators Holly Mitchell and Ricardo Lara, with a vote of 23 to 14.
SB 1393, the Fair and Just Sentencing Reform Act, reinstates judicial discretion to the application of the 5-year sentence enhancement for each prior serious felony on a person’s record at the time when a person is currently charged with a serious felony. The bill is part of the Equity and Justice Package of 2018 authored by Mitchell and Lara that seeks justice reforms for youth and adults.
None of this would be possible without the hard work of our Women’s Policy Institute fellows on the Criminal Justice team. For nearly a year, the Criminal Justice team has researched and helped craft two policies (SB 1392 and SB 1393), both of which are co-sponsored by the Women’s Foundation of California, Women’s Policy Institute. SB 1392 and SB 1393 seek major criminal justice reforms for both youth and adults. Watch here as Senator Holly Mitchell introduces the Criminal Justice team to the California Senate!
Learn more about the Women’s Policy Institute here!