Calif. Parole Board To Set Minimums For Life-Term Inmates
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California has settled legal action by a prisoner who said his parole applications were routinely and unjustifiably denied, an agreement that could bring about earlier releases for inmates who have been sentenced to terms up to life but remain eligible for parole.
The Los Angeles Times reports the settlement was approved Monday by a state Court of Appeal justice.
Under the deal, the Board of Parole Hearings is required to establish the minimum time that should be served before an inmate is released.
Those sentences are to be based on the circumstances of the crime, so that killers convicted of torture, for instance, would draw the longest terms.
For inmates to be held beyond that minimum sentence, a parole board would have to demonstrate why they are a danger.
