Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 286, which will close a dangerous loophole in California’s Elderly Parole program that allows violent sex offenders and murderers to be released early. Click here to read the bill’s fact sheet.
“Releasing violent rapists under the so-called ‘elderly parole’ is not only an insult to victims but a grave danger to Californians,” said Leader Jones. “Survivors of violent sex crimes and the families of murder victims should never have to live in fear that their attacker could walk free long before serving their full sentence. But under current law, the system is rigged in favor of criminals, forcing the Board of Parole Hearings to justify why these offenders shouldn’t be released. That’s completely backward. The law should protect law-abiding Californians, not violent criminals.”
The current Elderly Parole program was quietly expanded through a last-minute, gut-and-amend budget bill, Assembly Bill 3234 (Ting – 2020), which lowered the age threshold for elderly parole from 60 years of age to 50 years of age. A loophole in that bill allows violent sex offenders to be eligible for elderly parole after serving only 20 years. Despite its major societal and fiscal impacts, AB 3234 was rushed through the process without a single Senate policy committee hearing.
“A grave injustice was done to victims and the public when Democrats secretly slipped this change into a budget bill with no transparency or public input,” continued Leader Jones. “Proponents of AB 3234 vowed that sex offenders and rapists would not be eligible for Elderly Parole, but ‘accidentally’ left out that key protection—and have refused to fix their mistake. SB 286 will finally correct this dangerous loophole, ensuring that rapists, child molesters, and murderers serve their full terms—no matter their age.”
Since its passage, multiple child molesters have become eligible for Elderly Parole, forcing victims and their families to relive their trauma as they fight to keep their perpetrators behind bars.
SB 286 is Leader Jones’s second attempt to close this egregious loophole for rapists in the Elderly Parole program. His previous bill, SB 445 (2021), was blocked by Senate Democrats in the Public Safety Committee on a party-line vote.
SB 286 is supported by San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephen. The measure is awaiting assignment to a Senate policy committee for a hearing.