Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday plans to propose a new parole board process that could clear a path for more prisoners to have their sentences shortened.

The new regulations would in effect codify a process Newsom started two weeks ago when he directed the state Board of Parole Hearings to complete an assessment into whether brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez would pose an unreasonable risk to public safety if they were released from serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents.

The brothers submitted a clemency application to Newsom’s office last year, and the governor said he would make his decision on that request after the board’s investigation, which is expected within 90 days.

Newsom can already make an executive decision on clemency applications, but the governor most often reduces sentences by making certain inmates eligible for parole. At that point, the Board of Parole Hearings does a risk assessment to reach an agreement on the governor’s decision.

The proposed changes would task the parole board with launching an investigation at the start of the process. From there, the board would hold a hearing before submitting its recommendation and report to the governor’s office for possible clemency and the relevant courts for potential resentencing.

“Justice may be blind, but we shouldn’t be in the dark when determining if someone is rehabilitated, safe, and ready to leave prison,” Newsom said in a statement. “This new process will help further ensure victims and district attorneys are part of the commutation process and improve public safety by front-loading the risk assessment like we’re doing in the Menendez case.”

Booking photos of Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez.

(California Department of Corrections via AP)

Over his six years in office, Newsom has received thousands of clemency applications from prisoners whose only hope of leaving prison is through commutation or resentencing. Newsom’s office said he has granted a total of 208 pardons and 141 commutations so far as governor.

But critics say the process can be opaque, and touches only a limited pool of applicants.

Newsom’s office said the updated process, which will probably take months and would need final approval from the Office of Administrative Law after a public comment period, would help identify more eligible candidates for release and also provide greater transparency to victims and district attorneys by giving them an opportunity to participate in the clemency hearings, similar to how they’re involved in the parole process.

The California Supreme Court would still be responsible for approving commutations for people convicted of multiple felonies.

Jennifer Shaffer, who retired last year as the executive officer of the Board of Parole Hearings, said the updated guidelines would follow the comprehensive risk assessments used in parole hearings by the board — whose commissioners include former wardens, correctional officers, criminologists and psychologists — to determine public safety risk.

Erik Menendez, left, and his brother, Lyle, in front of their Beverly Hills home.

(Ronald Soble / Los Angeles Times)

The board’s rigorous scrutiny of prison conduct records and mental health evaluations, among other factors, makes it very difficult to be granted parole.

The board granted parole in only 35% of its 4,072 hearings in 2023, according to state data. Meanwhile, a 2023 investigation by The Times found dozens of people who remained in prison despite receiving clemency from the governor.

“This is an opportunity. This is not release,” Shaffer said. The updated process is designed to provide both the courts and governor with data “to make the most informed decision possible,” she added, while giving victims, their families and district attorneys more opportunity for input in the clemency process.

The governor’s changes could also help bridge a disparity gap between those who have committed similar crimes but received different sentences, Shaffer said. Even so, she added, “I don’t think everyone should have a hearing. It’s very difficult for victims and survivors.”

The proposal still represents only a “small step in the right direction,” said Heidi Rummel, who directs the Post-Conviction Justice Project at USC Gould School of Law.

“It doesn’t give anyone any sort of entitlement to release,” Rummel said. “But it does bring some hope, and I think it’s going to motivate rehabilitation.”