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Sen. Skinner’s Parole Reform Bill, SB 1064, OK’d by Senate Public Safety Committee

Published

5 years ago

May 21, 2020

The Senate Public Safety Committee today, on a bipartisan, 6-to-1 vote, approved SB 1064, a bill by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, that would eliminate the use of uncorroborated allegations from a confidential informant as evidence in a parole hearing.

State law already bars the use of uncorroborated testimony from in-custody informants during criminal trials. SB 1064 would do the same for state parole board hearings.

“Allowing uncorroborated information from a confidential informant to influence a parole hearing is deeply unfair. California’s parole system needs to be modernized, and reforms that enhance rather than limit due process are a step in the right direction,” Sen. Skinner said.

Under the state’s existing system, an in-custody confidential informant can make an unsubstantiated allegation against another inmate, and that allegation can then be entered into the accused’s inmate’s file — without the accused person’s knowledge.

Then, when the inmate comes up for parole, a parole board can deny release based solely, or in part, on the uncorroborated claim.

Typically, the person eligible for parole doesn’t know about the allegation until the parole hearing and isn’t allowed to cross-examine the person who made the claim or offers evidence proving the claim is false.

In 2011, California barred the conviction of criminal defendants based on uncorroborated testimony from in-custody informants (SB 687, Leno), because of the inherent unreliability of that information. However, such uncorroborated allegations are still used to deny parole to people in state prisons.

SB 1064 would bar California’s parole board from denying release to a person based solely, or in part, on uncorroborated information from an in-custody confidential informant.

It would also prohibit prison personnel from finding an inmate guilty of a rules violation based solely, or in part, on uncorroborated information from a confidential informant.

Such rules violations can also currently be used as a reason to deny parole. SB 1064 would also require that, in a prison disciplinary hearing, the accused inmate would have the opportunity to confront witnesses before an impartial hearing body and be provided a written statement of the evidence relied upon and an opportunity for appeal.

“Due process lies at the very foundation of our criminal legal system, yet the discretionary parole process has been too arbitrary for too long. Parole commissioners must not rely on biased opinions and unproven allegations to condemn people to die in prison,” said Keith Wattley, founder of UnCommon Law, an Oakland nonprofit legal organization that works to help California prisoners gain parole.

“We’re seeing people who have completely transformed their lives during decades in prison only to be denied parole based on confidential, unproven allegations someone made about them years ago. Fundamental fairness requires an end to that practice,” Wattley said.

SB 1064 now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration later this month.

Robert Gammon is the communications director/policy adviser for Sen. Nancy Skinner who represents the 9th Senate District and is the Senate majority whip.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 2- 8, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 2 – 8, 2025

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1 day ago

July 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

Published

5 days ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.