Thanks to dangerous Proposition 57, which California voters approved in 2016, a number of inmates who've committed crimes including shootings and stabbings have been granted parole under Prop 57's Nonviolent Parole Program.
NBC 4 News has obtained records detailing the cases of Alfredo "Freddy" Casillas and Luis Steven Flores. Casillas was part of a murder of a rival gang member in Burbank, and Flores was in prison for assault with a deadly weapon with a semi-automatic firearm.
Flores also did time for battery on a peace officer, as well as battery on another inmate. Casillas, Flores, and other violent inmates were eligible for parole because their most recent convictions were considered nonviolent.
This is one of the biggest problems with California's prison policies. Parole boards only look at a person's last crime, they don't take into account their entire history. Casillas did his 16-year sentence for the Burbank murder before he was eligible for parole, but he was serving time for a nonviolent offense when the parole board recommended his release.
Burbank Airport Police Chief Ed Skvarna described the crime Casillas took part in:
"The victim was shot three times. They began to beat him, and beat him severely, basically to death."
Casillas stabbed another inmate in prison and was later caught with a weapon he made in his cell. Thanks to Prop. 57, more creeps like this are going to be back on the streets.
Click here to read more from NBC 4 Investigative Reporter and KFI News contributor Eric Leonard.
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