Some of California’s most notorious killers, rapists and child predators now get a shot at freedom decades before their sentences are up thanks to the controversial elderly parole law.
Inmates previously had to reach 60 and serve at least 25 years before qualifying, but legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020 lowered the threshold to 50 and 20 years, beginning in 2021, as California sought to ease prison overcrowding.
But the change has since come under fire because criminals opening the door to parole for criminals handed sentences designed to keep them locked up for life.
While inmates aren’t guaranteed freedom, they get the chance to plead their case before the parole board, which weighs factors including their age and whether they still pose a threat to the public.
Gregory Lee Vogelsang, 57, was jailed for 355 years to life for a horrific string of sex crimes against children in the Sacramento area in the 1990s.
Despite that sentence, a three-person panel granted him parole in November under the elderly parole program.
David Allen Funston, who lured, kidnapped and molested at least eight children, was also granted parole in February at age 64.
The case followed another parole decision that ignited outrage in Sacramento County.
The backlash eventually reached the state Capitol, where Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen introduced AB 2727 to tighten the rules governing elderly parole.
Nguyen initially sought to raise the eligibility age to 75, but the proposal was later watered down to 65, with at least 25 years served.
The revised law has yet to pass following pushback from the Prison Policy Initiative, which cited research claiming to show declining recidivism among offenders over 65.
But critics argue the cases that sparked the legislative fight show why age alone should not determine when a violent offender gets another chance at freedom.
“David Funston was released at 64. Do we all feel safer from this pedophile simply by waiting until he’s 65?” said Schubert.
“Age does not erase predatory behavior.”
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