Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) announced the introduction of his Senate Bill 356 to ensure that commissioners at the Board of Parole Hearings are provided with all pertinent information, including graphic photos of the crime when considering the release of inmates. The measure will also ensure that crime victims and their families can have all evidence considered prior to their perpetrator’s release. Click here to read the bill’s fact sheet.
“Parole commissioners are, quite literally, making life and death decisions on behalf of our communities when they consider releasing criminals back onto our streets. There is no excuse for them to be ill-equipped or have important information hidden from them in that decision making process,” said Leader Jones. “Excluding photographs deemed by unelected bureaucrats as ‘graphic’ is absurd. If the crime was graphic, the photos would be graphic too, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be included. In fact, it speaks to why these commissions absolutely should see them.”
In January 2024, the Board arbitrarily enacted a policy that precluded the files presented to commissioners from containing “graphic” images. These excluded images can include crime scene photos, photographs of the victims after an assault, graphic images of children, and other images that could impact a commissioner's understanding of the original crime committed.
“This is commonsense policy that needs to be implemented immediately and I see it as righting a wrong that’s occurred,” said Jones. “If criminals and their advocates don’t want the parole board to see the heinous and graphic acts they committed, then they shouldn’t have committed them. It really is that simple.”
Senate Bill 356 will repeal the new Board policy and preclude the Board from instituting the same or similar policies in the future that discriminate against victims and their families and unfairly and unwittingly bias parole commissioners in favor of criminals seeking release.
The bill is sponsored by San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. The measure is awaiting assignment to a Senate policy committee for a hearing.