A bill that revises California's juvenile resentencing process, in light of a 50-years-to-life prison sentence that was recently wiped out for the 2001 Santana High School shooter, has been signed into law.
Assembly Bill 1959, authored by Assemblymember Darshana Patel, D-San Diego, revises the laws governing defendants sentenced to prison for crimes they committed as juveniles.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office said the current state of the law allowed Charles Andrew "Andy" Williams, who killed two students and wounded more than a dozen other victims at the Santee campus, to have his case potentially transferred to juvenile court, which could result in his release.
The office said current laws hold that if a judge finds defendants eligible for resentencing, their cases are transferred to juvenile court if the defendants were under 16 when they committed their crimes. Williams was 15 at the time of the shooting.
Defendants who were 16 or 17 instead face transfer hearings after they are found eligible for resentencing and could find their cases back in adult court.
AB 1959 would change the existing process to allow prosecutors the ability to request transfer hearings for defendants who were under 16.
"This law is about making sure our justice system has the tools to consider the full circumstances of the most serious cases while maintaining the protections and rehabilitation at the heart of our juvenile justice system," Patel said. "AB 1959 closes a gap in the law that directly impacted families in San Diego County, and I am grateful to District Attorney Summer Stephan, survivors, and everyone who worked with us to find a thoughtful solution that strengthens public safety and ensures our laws work as intended."
Current laws offer resentencing relief for juvenile defendants who have served at least 15 years of a life-without-parole sentence.
While Williams' sentence was not life without parole, Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez ruled that he was eligible for resentencing as his sentence was the "functional equivalent" of a life without parole term, because such lengthy prison terms don't give defendants the opportunity to become meaningful members of society as the law envisioned.
The District Attorney's Office has appealed Rodriguez's decision, but a state appellate court has not issued a ruling in the case. Williams, now 40, remains in custody in the meantime.
"The Santana High School shooting exposed how the existing law could lead to an outcome that was never intended — allowing a person who committed an especially horrific act of violence as a young teenager to potentially be released without a meaningful assessment of whether that release is safe and just," San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement.
"This law recognizes that young people can change and deserve an opportunity for rehabilitation, while also recognizing that victims, survivors, and communities deserve accountability and thoughtful judicial determination when crime was among the most serious and violent. AB 1959 makes our justice system more balanced, more thoughtful and safer for everyone," Stephan added.
