Under existing law, the Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of sentencing is public safety achieved through punishment, rehabilitation, and restorative justice, and that programs should be available for incarcerated persons, including educational, rehabilitative, and restorative justice programs that are designed to promote behavioral change and to prepare all incarcerated persons for successful reentry into the community. Existing law directs the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to maintain a mission statement consistent with these principles.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations relating to corrections and rehabilitation, including, among others, that the Legislature recognizes that life in prison can never be the same as life in a free society, and that active steps should be taken to make conditions in prison as close to normal life as possible, aside from loss of liberty, to ensure that this normalization does not lead to inhumane prison conditions. The bill would prohibit the prison system from aggravating the suffering inherent in imprisonment, except as incidental to justifiable separation or the maintenance of discipline. The bill would direct the department to maintain a mission statement consistent with the principles of normality and dynamic security.

Statutes affected:
SB 551: 1170 PEN
02/20/25 - Introduced: 1170 PEN