Stockton Mother: Calif.'s Prison Realignment Plan Lead To Daughter's Brutal Beating

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Along with some California Republicans, a mother is taking a stand against the state's prison realignment plan, which she says is responsible for debilitating her daughter.

"The state is responsible for what happened to her," Diana Munoz said of her daughter.

Stockton mother Munoz is blaming California's prison realignment plan for the brutal beating that disabled her daughter Brandy.

"If it didn't exist, my daughter would be living her life normally," she said.

Brandy's attacker, her former boyfriend, was released from jail early under the plan. It requires so-called low-level offenders serve their sentences in local jails, after a court order to reduce overcrowding in state prisons. But it appears many of the 25,000 or so inmates have been released early from jails because of their own overcrowding problems.

"No bill ever passed by this legislature has had more dire and severe and egregious consequences," said Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber).

Now GOB lawmakers say the plan needs to change, and Tuesday pushed separate bills that would allow sex offenders to be monitored by the state, would increase jail funding and change the rules on realigned mentally ill gun offenders.

But Democratic leaders say it's not likely possible.

"If we don't continue to make realignment work, the alternative is a court-ordered mass release of dangerous criminals into our communities. The Republican proposal would take us backwards. We must continue to move forward," said Senate President Pro Tem Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) in a statement.

But one mother disagrees.

"Brandy would be able to walk today if this didn't happen to her," Munoz said.

Some numbers show that since 2011 the release of those low-level inmates may have increased property crime but there are no solid findings showing violent crime increased.

Under the current court order, another 9,000 inmates need to leave California state prisons. Currently, lawmakers are mostly in agreement that prisons have gotten much better and should keep that number where it is.