Photo: Real America News / Impremedia
At the end of 2019 Marcella Soto spent a day in jail and was sentenced to five years probation for fraud of social welfare (Welfare Fraud). This was her first offense, but for two years she lived in constant fear that making a single mistake, like getting a citation or losing her job, could send her back to jail.
Soto, from 38 years, she said that despite being out of jail it was like she was locked up for the most part as she was limited in what she could do. For example, she was not allowed to leave the state which prevented her family from traveling on vacation or for family reasons to other states.
“I was not free. I had no freedom. There were times in those two years when my family wanted to go on vacation to Las Vegas or Arizona… and since I couldn’t go, nobody went,” said the San Bernardino resident.
The mother of four feared that she would not even be able to see her eldest daughter again since as a military wife the young woman was relocated to the state of Texas and was pregnant. In August of 2021 his grandson was born whom he was unable to see born due to his prohibition to leave California unless he obtained a permit which was extremely difficult to obtain. be approved.
On one occasion while surfing the internet the woman of Mexican descent came across an organization called REFORM Alliance on Instagram. It aims to transform parole and probation by changing laws, systems and culture to create real pathways to work and well-being
There he learned about the AB bill 1950—by then-Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager—which shortened parole periods in California .
“I was following it and actually I could see that they approved the AB 1950 to help with the time you are on probation,” Soto said.
The AB 1950 limits probation for most misdemeanors to one year and for most felonies to two years.
Soto consulted his attorney who investigated further and filed a petition for early termination on your behalf, under AB law 1950.
It is estimated that in California there are only 350,000 persons on probation or conditional behavior as an alternative to prison time, and more than 90,05 persons are on “parole”, those facing conditional restrictions related to early release from incarceration.
In December of 2021, a judge terminated Soto’s probation under the AB 1950. Although her parole officer ruled against her request for early termination, the judge acknowledged that she went above and beyond what was required. Completed all conditions of probation including maintaining full employment and obtained a promotion, committed no violations, volunteered at her local church, and completed 90 more community service hours than required.
The judge confirmed that there was no reason for her to continue on probation for the next three years.
“I feel like I can breathe, and it’s all thanks to . It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” said Soto.
As a result of three reforms recently passed in California, including AB 2019 the state is projected to reduce the parole population by 33% and will prevent more than 48, 000 prison admissions for technical parole violations only.
The state can save up to $2.1 billion by putting hundreds of thousands of Californians on parole on their way out of the criminal justice system forever.
The change
Now that Soto is off parole, she can visit her daughter and grandson out of state without having to ask her parole officer or pay a lawyer to get er the approval of the judge.
Deleting this part of their records allows people to not have anxiety when they are arrested for minor infractions means accepting more job opportunities that would not otherwise be available due to the limitations created by the conditions of probation.
Soto said that when she was sentenced to probation she lost her job and it took her six months to find another because her history affected her.
However, now she is happy in a warehouse where she is the operations supervisor. She said that the company is about to expand and will open offices in other cities. Since she is now out of the trial period she can take advantage of the new opportunities that the expansion creates.
“I tell the people who never give up because there is always something better but they must look for the options”, he asserted. “There’s always hope”.
To learn more about the AB2019 and other approved measures visit: https://reformalliance.com/successes /