California leniency kills 5 young women in Minnesota
Present California policy shaves large amounts of time off prison sentences, even for violent crimes. We are fighting these policies because of the danger they present to law-abiding Californians. But crime knows no boundaries, and these policies also endanger people in other states, as was tragically demonstrated last Friday according to this report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune by Paul Walsh
Derrick John Thompson, 27, of Brooklyn Park, remains jailed Tuesday with charges pending on suspicion of murder in connection with the crash late Friday after he sped off an Interstate 35W exit ramp in his full-size Cadillac Escalade SUV and struck a car going through an E. Lake Street intersection….
Killed in the crash were Sabiriin Ali, 17, of Bloomington; Sahra Gesaade, 20, of Brooklyn Center; Salma Abdikadir, 20, of St. Louis Park; Sagal Hersi, 19, of Minneapolis; and Siham Adam, 19, of Minneapolis.
The crash occurred three years after Thompson was sentenced to eight years in California prison, the story reports. How is that possible?
The Star-Tribune story links to this 2020 story in Noozhawk, a Santa Barbara, CA news site. (Santa Barbara County is on the California coast, two counties north and west of Los Angeles.)
A Minnesota man was sentenced to eight years in state prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges stemming from a 2018 police pursuit that ended in a crash that critically injured a pedestrian in Montecito.
Derrick John Thompson, 22, entered guilty pleas last month to charges of evading an officer causing injury, leaving the scene of an accident causing permanent injury, and conspiracy to possess marijuana for sale, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
Thompson also admitted the allegation of personally inflicting great bodily injury causing a comatose condition due to brain injury.
The GBI allegation not only results in a sentence enhancement, but it also classifies the crime as a “violent felony” under California Penal Code §667.5(c)(8).
The Star-Tribune story quotes Santa Barbara Deputy District Attorney Kevin Weichbrod saying that Thompson got credit for time in pretrial custody. His 1⅔ years in county jail reduced his 8 year prison sentence to 5½ years, which I gather means he got some good-time credit in jail.
So he heads off to state prison in February 2020 with 5½ years, or about 66 months, to go. California Penal Code §2933.1 caps credits for inmates with violent felony convictions at 15%. The minimum time in state prison, then, should have been about 66*0.85 = 56 months, i.e. 4 years and 8 months. That would make the earliest possible release date around October 2024.
So what is this guy doing out free and killing people in June 2023? According to the Star-Tribune:
There is one more factor that could have played into Thompson leaving prison well before 5½ years. Weichbrod said that passage of a statewide ballot proposal in 2016 handed prison officials “wide latitude to award additional custody credits [toward early release] as well as early parole opportunities.”
Thompson left prison on Jan. 19 this year, according to California corrections officials.
The “wide latitude” refers to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s claim that under Proposition 57 they actually have to power to abrogate state statutes via mere regulations. CJLF disagrees, and the matter is presently in litigation. Meanwhile, CDCR is handing out good time credits to violent felons at more than double the statutory maximum and also giving them program participation credits forbidden by § 2933.05(e)(1).
As a result, five young women are dead, killed by the uncorrected and unrehabilitated felon that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation released earlier than state statutes allow.
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Of course to override the statutory restrictions on credits by regulatory fiat, the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had to “certify that these regulations protect and enhance public safety.” (Cal. Const., section 32(b).)
I for one would love to see the data upon which the Secretary relied for the representation that increasing good time credits by more than double for violent felons without any requirement of rehabilitative programming “protected and enhanced public safety” beyond the existing good time credit system.
The reality is that CDCR gives these credits so long as the inmate is discipline free. Even if an inmate collects disciplinary violations, CDCR will restore credits lost given further periods of discipline free incarceration. Section 2933.1 already provided incentive for good behavior with up to 15% reductions. CDCR sweetened that offer, but demanded zero additional good conduct from violent felon inmates. It is like getting a raise doubling your salary for doing nothing different, or better.
The Administrative Procedure Act does require a disclosure along these lines. Here is the pertinent section of the APA filing in its entirety:
APA noncompliance in promulgating the permanent regulations is not part of the pending suit, but it remains as a basis of challenge should that become necessary.
We should also note that Minnesota officials have some blame here–what was he doing with a MN driver’s license?
He should never, ever, get out of prison after this. But I bet he pleads, and he serves maybe ten years.