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Court reinstates murderer’s parole denied by Schwarzenegger
30-06-2011
Tagged Under : Parole, Parole Denied
A Sacramento-based appellate court on Wednesday ordered the release on parole of an Oroville man doing 15 years to life for second-degree murder.
The appellate court reinstated the Board of Parole Hearings’ grant of parole two years ago to Raymond Rodel Walker at his 10th parole hearing.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reversed the board’s decision after concluding that Walker’s release would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society.
Butte Superior Court Judge Kristen A. Lucena last year denied Walker’s petition challenging Schwarzenegger’s action.
But a three-justice panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that “the governor’s decision is not supported by the record” and that he “abused his discretion.”
A jury found Walker guilty in 1986 of murdering 38-year-old Kristine Thomas. Her nude and battered body was found May 3, 1986, at the end of a road west of Oroville. Walker was accused of beating her and then running over her while she was still alive with a car after they left a downtown bar in the early morning hours. Walker, now 53, is incarcerated at the California Men’s Colony, San Luis Obispo.
The justices quoted at length from a 2007 psychologist’s report on his comprehensive evaluation of Walker, in which he stated that Walker was a low risk for parole violation. The parole board noted that Walker had apparently come to terms with his responsibility for the crime, his anger problem and substance abuse, and had expressed genuine remorse.
The presiding commissioner told him at the conclusion of the 2009 hearing, “I just think it’s time for you to go out there and try and do good.”
Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, cited the horrendous nature of the crime, and expressed concern that Walker “has still failed to obtain insight into his actions.”
The appeal panel, however, said all second-degree murders can be characterized as atrocious in one way or another. That standard “would mandate upholding in every case the denial of parole,” the panel said.
With respect to the governor’s concern about Walker’s lack of insight, the justices said that “the evidence establishes just the opposite.” The 21-page opinion was authored by Associate Justice Harry Hull, who was joined by Presiding Justice Vance W. Raye and Associate Justice George Nicholson.
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