California will allow thousands of nonviolent criminals serving life sentences to seek parole under a ballot measure approved by voters two years ago, The Associated Press reports.

The state will reportedly draw up new regulations to include prisoners deemed repeat offenders in early release provisions by January.

Corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters told the news agency that the state parole board estimates anywhere between 3,000 and 4,000 nonviolent third-strikers could be eligible for release under the voter-approved law.

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“But they would have to go through rigorous public safety screenings and a parole board hearing before any decision is made,” Waters said.

The measure is seen as a loss for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown (Calif.), who will reportedly be leaving office just days after the new rules are due to be drafted.

Back in February, a judge ruled that the state must consider earlier parole for sex offenders, a ruling that Brown’s administration is fighting.

California District Attorneys Association spokeswoman Jennifer Jacobs also told the news agency that prosecutors warned that third-strikers would fall under the measure’s constitutional amendment.

Director of the Stanford Three Strikes Project called Brown’s decision to comply with the ruling “monumental.”

Among the thousands of inmates estimated to be eligible for parole are inmates who he claims were incarcerated for stealing a bike, shoplifting shampoo, possessing less than half a gram of methamphetamine and stealing liquor.

The inmates are disproportionately black, mentally ill and are among those who are the least likely to commit additional crimes statistically.