“If we say people can change, then we must be willing to recognize when they have.”

A Call for Resentencing Review for Sergio Cabrera

At 22 years old, Sergio Cabrera entered prison facing 32 years to life.

He entered as a young man shaped by his environment, trauma, and poor decisions, not as a fully formed adult. Like many youths sentenced during the height of enhancement-driven sentencing, he was given decades, including 25 years tied to a firearm enhancement, under laws that have since evolved.

His early years inside were not those of a model inmate. He entered prison with fear, anger, and very little hope. But something critically changed over time.

He chose transformation.

The passage of SB 261 (Youth Offender Parole) gave him hope that growth could matter, that the law might someday recognize who he became, not just who he was at 22.

And he did not waste that hope.

 
Record of Rehabilitation

During Sergio’s incarceration, he has done far more than simply “do time he transformed.” He has actively rebuilt his life from within prison walls.

He has:

Earned his GED
Completed college coursework for his AA in Sociology 
Completed vocational certification in Health Facility Maintenance (HFM)
Served as an ADA worker assisting disabled incarcerated individuals
Facilitated and participated in Criminal Gang Member Anonymous (CGA)
Completed CB2 Life Skills (Victim Impact)
Completed LTOP Cognitive Behavioral programming
Completed Personal Insight Exploration (PIE)
Participated in AA/NA
Served as a youth mentor and facilitator in the Parenting Program
Participated in the Buddhist Meditation Program
CBI (Cognitive Behavioral Insight)
GOGI (Going Out by Going In)
ARC (Anti-recidivism Coalition) 
Trauma-tox (Compassionate Prison Project)
Completed the Insight Prep Program
Participated in Kid C.A.T. (creating awareness together)
Completed tattoo removal as a symbolic rejection of gang affiliation
Participated in the Transformative Pawsitive Change Dog Training Program, Marley’s Mutts (Prison program offering incarcerated people to demonstrate patience, compassion, and accountability while developing structured daily routines and teamwork skills, with training dogs for adoption)
Criminality and Impulsivity
Gang Awareness Recovery
Gang Intervention
This is not passive time served.

This is active, sustained rehabilitation.

 
Growth, Redemption, and the Chance to Be Seen Again

California lawmakers have acknowledged that past sentencing structures often imposed excessive punishment without fully accounting for youth, trauma, or rehabilitation.

Sergio appears eligible for review under multiple sentencing reforms, including:

AB 256 – Recognizing rehabilitation and equity in sentencing review
AB 1812 – Expanding judicial discretion to strike enhancements in the interest of justice
AB 518 – Granting courts discretion in selecting which charges to impose when multiple sentencing options exist
Additionally, prior reforms such as SB 620 and SB 81 allow courts to strike firearm enhancements and limit excessive sentence stacking.

These laws reflect a clear legislative message:

When rehabilitation is real, courts must have the ability to reconsider excessive sentences.

Sergio has now served 25 years longer than many sentences imposed today for comparable offenses.

The legal landscape has evolved.

His sentence has not.

 
Safety, Responsibility, and the Path to Redemption

Sergio is no longer the 22-year-old who entered prison without hope.

He is a mentor.
He is a facilitator.
He is a man who has spent decades preparing to return to society responsibly.

Extensive research shows that individuals who committed offenses at a young age and demonstrate long-term rehabilitation have significantly reduced risk of reoffending after decades of incarceration.

Resentencing review does not erase accountability.

It recognizes growth.

It recognizes maturity.

It recognizes transformation.

 
An Appeal to Our Leaders for Fair and Compassionate Review

We respectfully request a review that reflects both justice and rehabilitation:

The District Attorney’s Office to review Sergio Cabrera’s case for resentencing eligibility under AB 256 and related statutes.
The Court to consider discretionary relief under AB 1812, AB 518, SB 620, and SB 81.
Lawmakers and community leaders to stand behind the principle that rehabilitation must have meaning.
If 25 years of documented change does not qualify for reconsideration, then what does?

 
One Life, A Larger Message About Second Chances

Sergio Cabrera’s story represents more than a single case, it reflects the broader question of how our justice system recognizes growth, accountability, and the possibility of redemption. Across the country, many individuals who entered prison at a young age have spent decades working to transform their lives, taking responsibility for their past while striving to become better people. Sergio’s journey of rehabilitation, education, and service to others demonstrates that change is possible. His story invites us to consider what justice should look like when someone has shown genuine effort to grow, heal, and contribute positively to society. Recognizing transformation does not diminish accountability, it affirms the belief that people are capable of change and deserve the opportunity to demonstrate it.

This petition is not asking for sympathy.

It is asking for consistency.

Through thoughtful legislative reform, California has recognized that youth matters, trauma matters, and that growth and rehabilitation deserve meaningful consideration.

Sergio Cabrera embodies that rehabilitation.

Justice is not weakened by second chances.

It is strengthened by them.

 
“A system that believes in accountability must also believe in redemption.”

Sergio has done the work to change his life.

Now it is time for the justice system to recognize that transformation.

Please sign and share this petition to support a resentencing review and the opportunity for a second chance for Sergio Cabrera.