Newsom has mixed verdict on California criminal justice laws

By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a mixed verdict on more than three dozen criminal justice laws before his bill-signing deadline Friday. He approved measures to seal criminal records and free dying inmates. But Newsom denied bids to restrict solitary confinement and boost inmates’ wages. One new law will give California what proponents call the nation’s most sweeping law to seal criminal records. Newsom also relaxed standards to allow more ill and dying inmates to be released. He blocked a bill that would have made California the latest state to restrict segregated confinement. He also rejected giving the state prison system five years to marginally boost inmates’ wages.