Support for SB399

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Send two letters: one to your State Assembly Member. Fax a copy to Elizabeth at HRW

WHEN FINISHED, ERASE ALL RED

[Date] [Your name and address]

The Honorable [YourAssembly Member’s name]

California State Assembly Member

State Capitol, Room [Room number here]
Sacramento, CA 95814Via facsimile: (916) [# here]

RE: Support for SB 399 – The Fair Sentencing for Youth Act

Dear Assembly Member[Your Assembly Member’s name]:

I am a constituent, and I support the Fair Sentencing for Youth Act, SB 399.

I urge you to vote for it.[Say something about yourself, such as:“My wife and I run our own business in the San Fernando Valley.”Or: “I am a mother of four, and grandmother of three.”Or: “I am an attorney practicing in San Mateo, where I am active in the Democratic Party.” Or: “I am the manager of a native plants nursery and a member of the school board.”Or: “I am a victim of violent crime and active in my community.” Then say something about why you support this bill, such as:“I want our laws to bejust.” Or: “I think youth should get a second chance, and not spend the rest of their lives in prison.” Or: “I believe young people should be treated differently than adults in the criminal system.” Or: “I believe California should uphold human rights in its laws.”]

[If you’d like, please pick one or two of the paragraphs below. Each paragraph below is a separate idea that stands alone, so you can use as many or few of the paragraphs as you would like. The more your letter is your own, however, the more powerful it will be with legislators, so if you have time, please change the wording or add in your own ideas. It should be short! One page is fine.]

In California, youth under the age of 18 years old are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They will spend the rest of their lives in prison. Senate Bill 399 provides review of these cases after a youth offenderhas served a substantial amount of time in prison. It is an important piece of legislation because it protects public safety while at the same time recognizing that youth are different from adults. SB 399 holds youth accountablebut also provides achance for young offenders to prove they have changed.

Sentencing adolescents to life without parole is out of step with the rest of the world. The United States is the only country in the world that imposes life without parole on youth under the age of 18. Nationally there are over 2,500 cases of youth sentenced to life without parole; here in California, there are at least 250. In the rest of the world, there are none. This extreme punishment is a violation of international law and fundamental human rights.

Our laws should reflect scientific findings, recognize that young people are especially capable of redemption, and require these offenders to work towards rehabilitation. Recent scientific research concludes that the adolescent brain is not fully formed until well into early adulthood, and that young people do not have adult levels of judgment, impulse control, or ability to assess risks. In fact, the vast majority of youth grow out of the type of behavior that leads to crime.

Senate Bill 399 is also fiscally sound legislation. Every youth life-without-parole case costs the state nearly $40,000 per year of incarceration. Senate Bill 399 would require careful examination of these cases, and only those that merit review would have the opportunity for relief. It would establish judicial discretion to reevaluate the necessity of incarcerating young offenders for the remainder of their life. By focusing our resources on the cases that are a threat to public safety, passage of SB 399 would save millions of dollars for California.

Senate Bill 399 holds youth offenders responsible for their actions. Youth offenders would have a chance to prove they deserve a resentencing hearing only after serving 10, 15, 20, or 25 years. The bill requires the offender to prove that he or she has chosen a different path in lifeand is worthy of parole consideration.

California’s use of the sentence stands out as disproportionate and inequitable. For example, in California, racial disparities in the imposition of this sentence are among the worst in the country: black youth are sentenced to life without parole at a per capita rate that is 18 times that for white youth. Adult codefendants charged in the same cases are getting lower sentences and the opportunity for parole. In 56 percent of the cases in which a youth sentenced to life without parole had an adult codefendant, the adult got a lesser sentence than the youth. Finally, in 45 percent of California cases surveyed, youth sentenced to life without parole had not physically committed a murder, but were convicted for their role under the felony murder rule or accomplice liability. SB 399 would help California lead the nation in eradicating these inequities.

I urge your support for this important legislation.

Sincerely,

cc:Human Rights Watch Fax: 310.477.4622