Sen. Sharon Runner

Blasting Gov. Jerry Brown’s Oct. 1 prisoner shift as a “social experiment that simply won’t work,” Sen. Sharon Runner released a list of some of the 500 felonies that will no longer lead to state prison time.

Under Brown’s “realignment” plan, which was part of his solution for balancing the state budget, responsibility for what have been termed “lower level” convicts will shift to cash-strapped county jail systems. Examples of those so-called “lower level” crimes include felony child abuse, vehicular manslaughter while drunk, and female genital mutilation, according to a statement from Runner, R-Lancaster.

“Allowing convicted felons to be released onto our streets, without serving the terms to which they are sentenced, is not ‘strengthening public safety’ as the Governor has claimed,” Runner said.

“The Governor’s plan is a social experiment that simply won’t work in reality. At best, experiments should be done in a controlled environment with a small sample like testing a new drug. Governor Brown wants to use the entire state as a guinea pig,” she said.

Runner said local governments in California “will be overwhelmed as more and more convicted criminals are dumped into counties and the promise of new revenue from voter-approved taxes fails to come to fruition.”

“This plan is dangerous,” she said. “Public safety will be increasingly compromised.”

Runner listed 19 examples of crimes that will no longer lead to state prison time:

>  Vehicular manslaughter while under the influence, not involving gross negligence (Penal Code Section 191.5(c)(2))

>  Felony child abuse (pursuant to Penal Code Section 273d)

>  Elder financial abuse (various subdivisions of Penal Code Section 368)

>  Street gang recruiting (Penal Code Section 186.26)

>  Assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury (Penal Code Section 245(a)(1)

>  Hate crimes (Penal Code Section 422.7)

>  Practicing medicine without a license (Business and Professions Code Section 2052)

>  Nearly all of the drug crimes, including sales of drugs to children and manufacturing methamphetamine (various Health and Safety Code sections)

>  Violations of the Gun Free School Zone Act (Penal Code Section 626.9)

>  Threats of harm against elected officials (Penal Code Section 76)

>  Insurrection (Military and Veterans Code Section 455)

>  Female genital mutilation (Penal Code Section 273.4)

>  A second violation of domestic violence protective order (Penal Code Section 273.6)

>  Identity theft (Penal Code Section 530.5)

>  Knowingly giving/selling a firearm to a person prohibited from possessing a firearm because he or she was committed to a mental institution (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8101)

>  Participation in an act of lynching (Penal Code Section 405b)

>  Willfully and intentionally – or with reckless disregard for the risk of great bodily injury or death of any person – emitting an air contaminant that results in unreasonable risk of great bodily injury or death of any person (Health and Safety Code Section 42400.3)

>  Mortgage fraud (Penal Code Section 532f)

>  Bribing electors to vote or not vote (Elections Code Section 18521).