February 12, 2021
Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese spoke to reporters at the County Government Building Friday. File photo.
California’s felony murder law allows judges to send convicts to prison for life and sentence them to death even when that person is not directly responsible for the death of another. Sen. Dave Cortese wants to end that practice, and give thousands of inmates charged under the law a chance to apply for a new sentence, with a bill he introduced this week.
Defendants can be charged with felony murder when someone dies, even accidentally, during the commission of a felony like a robbery or burglary. It applies to the person whose actions caused the death and to accomplices individuals who, while involved in the crime, did not kill anyone and did not intend for anyone to die, Cortese said.
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Kelly Schaeffer worries there might come a time when she can t afford to talk to her teenage son in jail.
The 44-year-old mother estimates she spends $100 a month for her son to call her every other day from the Muskegon County Jail, which contracts with Securus Technologies to provide telecommunication services. Schaeffer says these conversations are central to maintaining their connection as her son serves a year-long jail sentence.
Alleged coronavirus violations at San Quentin lead to biggest pandemic fine by California regulatory agency
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Regulators at Cal-OSHA have fined the California prison system nearly $400,000 for health violations many of them coronavirus-related at San Quentin State Prison.Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2020
Regulators have fined the California prison system more than $400,000 for what they said were health violations many of them coronavirus-related at San Quentin State Prison.
The $421,880 fine against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is by far the largest penalty assessed against any entity in a single citation by Cal-OSHA during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspections in June and July found nine violations at San Quentin, six of them considered serious, the state said.
Alleged coronavirus violations at San Quentin lead to biggest pandemic fine by California regulatory agency
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Regulators at Cal-OSHA have fined the California prison system nearly $400,000 for health violations many of them coronavirus-related at San Quentin State Prison.Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2020
Regulators have fined the California prison system more than $400,000 for what they said were health violations many of them coronavirus-related at San Quentin State Prison.
The $421,880 fine against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is by far the largest penalty assessed against any entity in a single citation by Cal-OSHA during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspections in June and July found nine violations at San Quentin, six of them considered serious, the state said.