California Prop 57 eligibility runs along two tracks: a parole review track for people in state prison on nonviolent felony convictions, and a sentence-credit track that reaches nearly everyone in state prison. On the parole side, you qualify if your current conviction is a felony that does not appear on Penal Code section 667.5(c), you are serving a state prison sentence, and you are not on death row or serving life without the possibility of parole. On the credits side, the same two exclusions are the only categorical bars; everyone else can earn credits, at rates that depend on the offense and housing.
Who Qualifies for Nonviolent Parole Review
The constitutional provision added by Prop 57 makes anyone convicted of a nonviolent felony and sentenced to state prison eligible for parole consideration after completing the full term of the primary offense.1Justia Law. California Constitution Article I – Declaration of Rights – Section 32 Two groups are shut out entirely: people sentenced to death, and people serving life without the possibility of parole.
People serving indeterminate life sentences with the possibility of parole for a nonviolent offense also qualify. They become eligible for a parole suitability hearing after serving the full base term of the primary offense.2California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Prop 57 The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016 Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility is not release. The Board of Parole Hearings still has to find that the person would not pose an unreasonable risk of violence or significant criminal activity, and plenty of people are denied. Qualifying for review gets you a decision; it does not guarantee the answer.
What Counts as a Nonviolent Felony Under Prop 57
Prop 57 uses one test and one test only: is your conviction on the list in Penal Code section 667.5(c)? If yes, it is a violent felony and you do not qualify for nonviolent parole review. If no, it is nonviolent for Prop 57 purposes, no matter how the offense sounds in plain English.
The 667.5(c) list includes:3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 667.5
- Murder, voluntary manslaughter, and attempted murder
- Forcible rape, sodomy or oral copulation by force, lewd acts on a child, continuous sexual abuse of a child, sexual penetration by force, and rape in concert
- Mayhem, kidnapping, robbery, and carjacking
- Any felony in which the defendant inflicted great bodily injury or personally used a firearm (when charged and proven), and violations of certain weapons-of-mass-destruction statutes
- Arson of an inhabited structure or arson causing great bodily injury, first-degree burglary with someone present in the home, and gang-related extortion or witness intimidation
- Any felony punishable by death or life in prison
The counterintuitive part is what the list leaves out. Domestic battery, assault with a deadly weapon where no great bodily injury enhancement was charged and proven, human trafficking, and certain drug offenses involving minors are not on 667.5(c). People convicted of those offenses are nonviolent under Prop 57 and qualify for early parole review. The classification turns on the statutory list, not on how serious the conduct sounds.
When Eligibility Starts: The Primary Offense Calculation
Qualifying for review and reaching the date it happens are two different things. Prop 57 ties the date to the primary offense, defined as the longest single term the court imposed on any individual count. Enhancements, consecutive terms on other counts, and alternative sentences are stripped out of the calculation.1Justia Law. California Constitution Article I – Declaration of Rights – Section 32
A person sentenced to three years on a primary count, plus a five-year enhancement, plus a consecutive two-year term on a separate count, reaches their nonviolent parole eligible date after three years, not ten. CDCR calculates this date for every eligible person within 60 days of admission.4California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Nonviolent Offender Parole Review Process for Determinately-Sentenced Inmates
Who Qualifies for Sentence Credits
The credit side of Prop 57 reaches much further than the parole-review side. Nearly everyone in state prison can earn credits that shorten time served. The only categorical exclusions, again, are people sentenced to death and people serving life without parole.5California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In-Prison Credit-Earning Opportunities
CDCR awards five types of credit:5California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In-Prison Credit-Earning Opportunities
- Good Conduct Credit, for following rules and performing assigned duties. This is the largest category and can be forfeited for discipline problems.
- Milestone Completion Credit, for finishing rehabilitative or educational programs aimed at post-release employment.
- Rehabilitative Achievement Credit, for approved self-help activities and volunteer public service hours.
- Educational Merit Credit, for a high school diploma or equivalency, a college degree, or completion of the Offender Mentor Certification Program.
- Extraordinary Conduct Credit, up to 12 months, for a heroic act in a life-threatening situation or exceptional help with prison safety and security.6Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 15 3043.6 – Extraordinary Conduct Credit
Good Conduct Credit Rates
How fast Good Conduct Credit accrues depends on whether your offense is classified as violent and where you are housed. Rates effective December 2021:5California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In-Prison Credit-Earning Opportunities
- Nonviolent offenders in general population: 50% (one day of credit for every two days served)
- Violent offenders in general population: 33.3% (one day for every three days served)
- Nonviolent offenders in minimum custody or fire camps: 66.6% (two days for every three days served)
- Violent offenders in fire camps: 50%
Refusing a work assignment or incurring serious discipline drops the rate to zero regardless of offense type.5California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In-Prison Credit-Earning Opportunities People serving three-strikes sentences for nonviolent crimes earn at the standard 50% nonviolent rate.7California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Frequently Asked Questions on Good Conduct Credits
Juveniles: Who Still Qualifies for Adult Court
Prop 57 also changed who can end up in adult court as a minor. Prosecutors can no longer file juvenile cases directly in adult criminal court. A juvenile is tried as an adult only if a judge orders it after a transfer hearing, finding by clear and convincing evidence that the juvenile is not amenable to rehabilitation in the juvenile system. The court weighs five factors: criminal sophistication, potential for rehabilitation before juvenile jurisdiction ends, delinquent history, prior rehabilitation efforts, and the gravity of the current offense.8California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 707
Transfer is available for minors 16 and older charged with any felony, and for minors 14 or 15 charged with certain serious offenses listed in the statute.8California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 707 Younger juveniles outside those categories are not eligible for transfer at all.