FIRST ON FOX — A Democratic-led bill aimed at protecting inmates in California facilities from sexual assault by addressing issues related to sexual abuse could result in overall reductions in sentences for violent offenders, state Republicans are warning.
SB 898, authored by Democratic state Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, aims to strengthen protections for individuals incarcerated in California facilities by addressing issues surrounding sexual abuse and expanding opportunities for legal remedies.
But Republicans say a little-known provision in the bill would allow inmates serving sentences of 15 years or more to seek resentencing or release if the sentencing guidelines have changed since they were convicted.
“You know, they make a big fuss about crime going down, but that's because Democrats decriminalized it in California,” state Sen. Brian Dahl said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Victims of murder, violent sex crimes, rape, murder, child abuse can come forward every three years and have a hearing where they can potentially be released, whether they've been rehabilitated or not.”
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California Governor Gavin Newsom (AP Photo/Steven Sene/File)
Dahle said this would create a cycle of frequent hearings and petitions, with victims having to attend repeat hearings every three years and relive the trauma inflicted by their perpetrators.
Skinner dismissed the Republican criticism, calling it a “false accusation” about SB 898 and “just the latest example of MAGA distortions and lies.”
“SB 898 is primarily intended to protect inmates who have been proven to have been raped or sexually assaulted by prison guards or staff,” she told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This addendum simply adds attorneys to the existing list of those eligible to request a court hearing if California changes its sentencing laws. SB 898 does not release anyone from prison, that's all.”
The California District Attorneys Association denounced the bill, saying it “strongly opposes the chain of trials of murderers, rapists and child molesters.”
This provision allows the defense to request a hearing if California revises sentences for certain crimes, but it does not automatically result in release. Hearings are not guaranteed and can be denied by judges, and there is no guarantee that a change in the sentencing guidelines will result in immediate release.
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Meanwhile, Sen. Skinner's bill focuses on several proposals regarding how sexual abuse and sentencing issues would be handled within the California prison system. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to monitor inmates who report sexual abuse for 90 days to prevent retaliation.
“If someone is being raped in prison, then of course we need to do something to isolate those incidents and fix them,” Dahle responded. “This has been going on for as long as people have been in prison. Yes, there are bad people, but for the most part, we do the best we can with the situation. But prisons are difficult places to isolate someone.”
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California State Capitol (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images/Courtesy of National Urban League/File)
According to an analysis of the bill by Senate Republicans, the bill has been “misclassified by legislative counsel as a bill that primarily deals with 'sexual assault resentencing.'”
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“While the title remains intact from the previous version, and several provisions on that topic remain, the most significant changes the bill makes to our sentencing law have nothing to do with sexual assault, other than potentially allowing individuals who commit sex offenses to be released from prison sooner,” the analysis states.
