Realignment AB 109 in California Makes Sweeping Changes and Prompts Controversy
The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray for the death of Michael Jackson created a firestorm of speculation and debate among the general public.
But among the California law enforcement community, the sentencing phase of the trial generated its own controversies. The reason is Realignment AB 109 in California, a sweeping new criminal justice law that amends over 500 felony statutes to provide for jail instead of state prison.
Realignment AB 109 also implements a new kind of felony sentence called “mandatory supervision” that resembles felony probation. Further, the law makes changes to the way certain offenders are supervised when they are released from state prison.
One of the many statutes amended by Realignment AB 109 in California is the involuntary manslaughter statute under which Dr. Murray was convicted. Because Dr. Murray was sentenced after the law took effect on October 1, 2011, he could receive at most four years in county jail (which he did, in fact, receive).
If he had been sentenced prior to Realignment AB 109 in California, Dr. Murray could have received up to four years in California state prison instead of county jail.
Realignment AB 109 in California may have generated controversy and second thoughts in the context of the Michael Jackson case. But advocates of the law are optimistic it will lead to the kind of community-based, creative sentencing that can foster genuine rehabilitation and reduced recidivism in a way that a “lock ‘em up in state prison and throw away the key” cannot.
