Cal. PEN § 5034
This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 5034, part of California’s Penal Code — defines crimes and sets criminal procedure in California.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) The department shall establish and maintain an Accountability Letter Bank (ALB) program.
(b) The goals of the program shall be both of the following:
(1) To allow victims, survivors, and next of kin to receive a letter of accountability from an incarcerated person when, and if, they choose to receive a letter that is addressed to them.
(2) To provide an opportunity for incarcerated persons under the jurisdiction of the department to express accountability and remorse for the harm they have caused.
(c) All letters submitted to the ALB shall be reviewed by an ALB program facilitator to ensure they are not harmful to the victim, survivor, or next of kin.
(d) If a victim, survivor, or next of kin wishes to receive the offender’s letter, the ALB program facilitator shall make the letter available through any of the following:
(1) By mail.
(2) By email.
(3) Upon request by the victim, survivor, or next of kin, an ALB program facilitator may read the letter with the victim, survivor, or next of kin in person or by telephone.
(e) If an incarcerated person decides to participate in a program to draft and submit a letter to the ALB, the program shall be administered by a community-based nonprofit organization.
(f) Participation in the ALB program shall be voluntary.
(g) Incarcerated people shall be able to update letters they submit to the ALB. Letters submitted to the ALB shall only be retained for purposes of providing them to the person to whom it is addressed.
(h) Letters submitted to the ALB shall not be included in an incarcerated person’s central file.
(i) A letter submitted to the ALB, and a person’s participation in or lack of participation in the ALB program, shall not be considered in a parole suitability decision.
(b) The goals of the program shall be both of the following:
(1) To allow victims, survivors, and next of kin to receive a letter of accountability from an incarcerated person when, and if, they choose to receive a letter that is addressed to them.
(2) To provide an opportunity for incarcerated persons under the jurisdiction of the department to express accountability and remorse for the harm they have caused.
(c) All letters submitted to the ALB shall be reviewed by an ALB program facilitator to ensure they are not harmful to the victim, survivor, or next of kin.
(d) If a victim, survivor, or next of kin wishes to receive the offender’s letter, the ALB program facilitator shall make the letter available through any of the following:
(1) By mail.
(2) By email.
(3) Upon request by the victim, survivor, or next of kin, an ALB program facilitator may read the letter with the victim, survivor, or next of kin in person or by telephone.
(e) If an incarcerated person decides to participate in a program to draft and submit a letter to the ALB, the program shall be administered by a community-based nonprofit organization.
(f) Participation in the ALB program shall be voluntary.
(g) Incarcerated people shall be able to update letters they submit to the ALB. Letters submitted to the ALB shall only be retained for purposes of providing them to the person to whom it is addressed.
(h) Letters submitted to the ALB shall not be included in an incarcerated person’s central file.
(i) A letter submitted to the ALB, and a person’s participation in or lack of participation in the ALB program, shall not be considered in a parole suitability decision.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a criminal defense matter in California?
See all California Criminal Defense lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.