A California Law Voters Never Approved Lets Violent Criminals Walk Free — And No One's Tracking Them

Over six years ago, California's Legislature quietly tucked a sweeping mental-health diversion law into a 900-page budget bill, bypassing voters entirely, and handed dangerous offenders what some legal officials are describing as a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation to discuss California's diversion model and how defendants charged with felony child abuse, carjackings, residential burglaries and attempted murders can walk free without ever entering a guilty plea. Both officials said inmates openly strategize around diversion, with Cooper mentioning the tactic being heard over recorded jail calls...