AB 2590 Summary

• Establishes that the purpose of sentencing is public safety achieved through punishment, rehabilitation, and restorative justice, and directs the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish a mission statement reflecting these principles.

• Makes educational, rehabilitative, and restorative justice programs available to all eligible inmates and encourages the department to provide enrollment opportunities for successful community reentry.

• Extends judicial discretion in sentencing from January 1, 2017 to January 1, 2022, allowing courts to impose any of three possible terms; after January 1, 2022, courts must impose the middle term unless circumstances in aggravation or mitigation exist.

• Allows defendants under 18 at the time of offense sentenced to life without parole to petition for recall and resentencing after 15 years of incarceration, with subsequent petitions available at 20 and 24 years, and retroactive application to all eligible defendants.

• Permits courts to recall and resentence prisoners who are terminally ill with less than six months to live or permanently medically incapacitated, upon recommendation by the Department of Corrections or Board of Parole Hearings.