By Demian Bulwa
The San Francisco Chronicle
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A law designed to thin California’s bloated criminal lockups by shortening some sentences has prompted the release of thousands of nonviolent county jail inmates in recent days.
The measure has fueled controversy - because everything relating to the release of convicts does - and confusion, because the law fails to spell out exactly which inmates it applies to.
As a result, county jail officials in the Bay Area have interpreted the law in at least three different ways. Some have released dozens of inmates, some just a few.
State leaders have been asked to weigh in. But the issue grew more delicate when Sacramento County officials said an inmate they released Monday - 16 days early under the new law - was arrested within hours on suspicion of attempted rape.
On Thursday, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is considering running for governor, referred calls to state prison officials. The prison officials said they had no authority over county jails.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would issue a statement Thursday related to the matter. But by the end of the day, the office was also referring calls to prison officials.
The law, which Schwarzenegger signed in October, went into effect Jan. 25. Among other things, it increases good-behavior time credits for nonviolent jail inmates, leading to quicker release.
In the past, jail inmates who behaved themselves served as little as two-thirds of their sentence. Under the new law, some drug offenders, thieves and other nonviolent convicts can serve as little as half their sentence, receiving a day of credit for every day locked up.
Freed, arrested
The measure, though, did not say whether it applied retroactively to inmates who were already in jail when the law took effect.
Sacramento County decided it did, leading to the release of hundreds of inmates starting Monday - including Kevin Eugene Peterson, who was arrested hours after his release for allegedly trying to rape a woman.
Contra Costa County officials said Thursday that they were also applying the increased time credits to the full sentences of every eligible jail inmate.
As of Wednesday, 90 nonviolent offenders had been released early, their sentences trimmed by anywhere from a few days to several weeks, said sheriff’s office spokesman Jimmy Lee.
In San Francisco, things are different. While all eligible nonviolent inmates are earning the increased credits, those credits are only being applied for time served after Jan. 25, said Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Eileen Hirst. Before Jan. 25, the old formula applies. Hirst called it “retroactive lite.”
Strictest approach
Meanwhile, Santa Clara County has opted for the most stringent approach. The law is being applied only to inmates who were sentenced after Jan. 25, said Mark Cursi, a spokesman for the county’s corrections department.
Supporters and opponents of the retroactive approach each said they had legal precedent on their side.
San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the retroactive approach was consistent with the intent of the law - to save money by moving inmates out of crowded jails.
Brian Buckelew, a spokesman for San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, said the strictest approach - Santa Clara’s - was best. Then, he said, inmates would serve exactly the term they thought they would serve when they were convicted or cut a plea deal.
A spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said judges have ruled that laws should be applied retroactively only if they expressly say that. He said the Sacramento inmate should not have been released.
“I will be the first to confess to you,” said the spokesman, Nathan Barankin, “that that should only answer some of the questions out there.”
Copyright 2010 San Francisco Chronicle