(PM.) California Democrats have proposed a bill that would require judges to consider a convicted criminal’s race when determining prison sentences.
Under the guidance of the California Reparations Task Force, Democrat state lawmakers introduced Assembly Bill 852 which “would require courts, whenever they have discretion to determine a sentence, to consider the disparate impact on historically disenfranchised and system-impacted populations” with the intent of “rectifying racial bias.”
The bill, introduced by Reggie Jones-Sawyer, the Democratic chair of the California Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, states, “Under existing law, a conviction or sentence is unlawfully imposed on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin if the defendant proves, among other things, that the defendant was charged or convicted of a more serious offense than defendants of other races, ethnicities, or national origins, or received a longer or more severe sentence, and the evidence establishes that the prosecution more frequently sought or obtained convictions for more serious offenses against people who share the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin, as specified, or if a longer or more severe sentence was more frequently imposed on defendants of a particular race, ethnicity, or national origin, as specified.”
Bill 852 passed in the House during a legislative session in May and is now under review by the state Senate.
