UNDER A NEW LAW, juvenile offenders now do not have to pay restitution to the victims of crime in California.
Assembly Bill 1186, otherwise known as the REPAIR Act, was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom and went into effect at the start of the new year. It will make it the responsibility of the California Victim Compensation Board to compensate victims of crime.
“The REPAIR Act makes our youth restitution system work better for everyone,” said Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, upon learning AB 1186 was signed. “I am proud to have authored this crucial bill and to promote effective legislation promoting accountability, rehabilitation, and healing in our criminal legal system.”
UC Berkeley Law published a 2017 report documenting the practice of charging what it called “harmful, unlawful, and costly” juvenile fees to youth and families across California. “Because youth of color are disproportionately arrested, detained, and punished in the juvenile system, fee amounts are especially burdensome for families of color,” the report said.
The UC Berkeley Law Policy Advocacy Clinic found that only 13% of restitution orders by California courts actually get paid. This new restitution law will clear the debt of thousands of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.
A 2016 report from the group Human Rights Watch found that over 6,500 people in California prisons were under the age of 18 and were as young as 14 at the time of their crime. Over 5,000 were sentenced to more than 10 years, with more than 2,000 of those receiving indeterminate sentences.
‘I have no ability to pay it’
Demiantra Maurice Clay is an African American man who was tried and convicted of murder at age 15. He said he was ordered to pay multiple restitution fines that exceed $40,000.
“I have no ability to pay it,” Clay said. “I wasn’t even old enough to legally work in California when I committed my crime.”
Over the decades he has been in prison, Clay has had monies deducted from his prison pay numbers, which are pennies on the dollar. The state also took a percentage of the money deposited into his trust account that his family struggles to send him.
At one time, the prison took over 50% of Clay’s trust deposits, leaving him with $45 from a $100 deposit.
“The prison went from taking 22% to 33, 44 and then 55% of my family’s money they sent for me to buy toothpaste, deodorant, scented soap, and food supplements,” he said. “They could barely make the ends meet and were trying to help me survive.”
Clay said the system is set up in a way that fuels a criminal environment.
“We have to survive,” he said. “Some people sell stuff they make in prison. Others sell pruno or drugs.”
The UC Berkeley Law report found that huge debts placed on poor Black and brown youth may increase the likelihood of recidivism. This is one reason why the East Bay assemblymember Bonta supported the bill.
“It puts a lot of pressure on people to potentially go for the quick dollar, which is potentially committing another crime,” said Bonta.
Tell us where it hurts
The REPAIR Act will require the court to determine the amount of economic loss suffered as a result of the minor’s conduct and issue a restitution order, which will be sent directly to the California Victim Compensation Board.
The board will compensate victims from money appropriated by the Legislature. The new law also makes any outstanding balance of any restitution or fine ordered by the court unenforceable and uncollectible 10 years after the date of imposition of an order for a restitution fine.
Adult offenders are also reporting that their restitution fines have been eliminated since the new law went into effect. Michael Moore received a $10,000 restitution fine more than 10 years ago that he said he had no ability to pay.
“I woke up on Jan. 1 debt-free,” Moore said. “It feels good not to have to worry about a debt I can’t pay.”
Moore, who is serving an indeterminate sentence and has been incarcerated for more than 20 years, said, “It feels like a heavy weight has been lifted off of me.”
As for the minors, the law requires the court to order them to make amends for their crimes by participating in restorative justice programs, community service, educational employment or youth development programs.
Clay will not have to finish paying his fine under the new law. But he is also celebrating better news: he is now out of prison.
“I feel good knowing I will not have this huge debt following me back to society,” Clay said.
“This is a win for justice and it’s a win for public safety,” Bonta said. “I am grateful to Gov. Newsom for signing the bill to ensure we don’t trap young people in perpetual cycles of debt, especially poor Black and brown families.”
Steve Brooks is a California Local News Fellow with Bay City News Foundation, reporting from inside San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. His perspective gives readers insight into issues and news from inside the prison. See more of his work at Inside/Out on Local News Matters.