Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) spoke in strong opposition to all six of Governor Gavin Newsom’s appointees to the Board of Parole Hearings. Click here to watch Leader Jones’s statement on the Senate Floor.
“Today’s Board of Parole ‘Commissioners’ are obsessed with freeing up bed space, closing prisons, and releasing killers, rapists, and torturers,” said Leader Jones. “Crime victims and their families have lost faith in this board, which has reportedly censored testimony and submissions by crime victims. While it’s up to the Senate to restore faith in our justice process, unfortunately, the Senate today refused to stand up to the governor and instead rubber stamped his horrible appointees who frequently allow murders and other violent criminals out of prison early.”
Crime Victims Alliance wrote a very raw and emotional letter explaining their strong opposition to Governor Newsom’s appointments to the Board. Click here to read the letter.
Below is an excerpt from the Crime Victims Alliance’s letter:
“We are gravely concerned with the blatant interference of the Board of Parole Hearings’ administration limiting the information presented to the Commissioners that is necessary to make their decisions in determining parole suitability.
“Unfortunately, no Board Commissioner has spoken up against this injustice, and in fact, many point to the Executive Officer as their ‘boss’ whom they take direction from when in fact, it is the Governor they report to.”
Today’s Senate vote confirmed Robert A. Barton, Kevin Chappell, Gilbert R. Infante, Kathleen O’Meara, Catherine Purcell, and Neil Schneider to the Board of Parole Hearings.