Why violent criminals are getting out of prison early
Hard-core gang member Howard Astorga is a parolee who had three prior felony convictions but was classified as low-level, non-violent criminal offender based on his commitment offense of Possession of Control Substance. If Astorga was still in state prison today, he would be among the thousands of inmates to be freed under the early release program and assigned to the new non-revocable parole status. In fact, Astorga is on his way back to prison after being found guilty Monday of the shooting death of four-year-old Roberto Lopez Jr. which occurred in the Echo Park area.
Caroline Aguirre/Our LA.org
Hard-core gang member Howard Astorga is a parolee who had three prior felony convictions but was classified as low-level, non-violent criminal offender based on his commitment offense of Possession of Control Substance. If Astorga was still in state prison today, he would be among the thousands of inmates to be freed under the early release program and assigned to the new non-revocable parole status. In fact, Astorga is on his way back to prison after being found guilty Monday of the shooting death of four-year-old Roberto Lopez Jr. which occurred in the Echo Park area.
Caroline Aguirre/Our LA.org