A recent report from the UC Berkeley School of Law Criminal Law and Justice Center concludes that prosecutor-initiated resentencing in Alameda County has reduced thousands of years of incarceration and generated tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in projected savings to the State of California, while presenting a low risk to public safety.
The study, Measuring the Impact of Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing in Alameda County, examines 165 cases in which individuals were resentenced under Penal Code section 1172.1 between 2019 and early 2025.
That statute allows district attorneys and other authorized officials to refer incarcerated individuals back to court for possible sentence reductions based on pre- and post-conviction factors. It establishes “a strong presumption favoring resentencing that can only be overcome if the court finds an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.”…