California Needs a New Clemency System

Actually incarceration costs from everything I have read closer to $45,000 per inmate. Clemency is a good idea given that our Board of Parole Hearings is a complete joke. They never release anyone. Their jobs should be turned over to judges who actually will follow the law and release rehabilitated prisoners. The courts have begun to overturn many of their parole denials. We pay them well over $100K per year and they do nothing. Something needs to be done as stated in this article that there are far too many people sitting in our prisons who shouldn't be there.

Our Goveror, our legislature, the Parole Board are all frozen in fear of someone saying, "you are soft on crime" even though California has the harshest sentencing in the country. Other states that have 3 strikes laws actually don't incarcerate for life those who commit minor offenses for their last strike. We spend millions incarcerating petty thieves for life.

There is so much wrong with our system that I seriously doubt they will do anything but continue to build more prisons and the budget for prisons will double to 20 Billion in a few years. People are afraid of their own shadows these days and they believe the nonsense spouted by politicians and the media.

One thing that should be done is the truth be told about any initiative being put before the voters. (TV commercials should be monitored for truth, this is our justice system not some new kitchen appliance, yet they are allowed to flat out lie)

Voters don't have a chance with the Law Enforcement Unions and special interest groups backing all tough on crime legislation because it creates jobs and job security. They lead us to believe that crime is much higher than it really is and WE NEED THIS NEW LEGISLATION! The media goes right along with it.

The public just passed Prop 9 because it said "Vicitms Rights" so it must be good, right? Wrong. All it does is add more layers and more costs in the hundreds of millions each year from our budget to further deny those already incarcerated doing ridiculous sentences even more rights. Now we are denying them counsel among other things. Keep voting away your civil rights like this and it will bite you later. Now our parole board can deny parole hearings for a decade if they want. They are useless now and only rubber stamp denials. The public is so ignorant of the effects of this type of legislation and yet they keep voting for this stuff. Victims were already given these rights in 1982. The public was lead to believe that victims had no rights. COMPLETE LIES. But it worked.

In a state of 38 million people some bad things are gonna happen. We don't take that into consideration. We don't need to spend what we spend incarcerating. We are over incarcerating everyone for everything. Not just our violent criminals.

So if a Clemency board would actually function to release people I'm all for it. But it will never happen.

The legislature will cry that they are the ones that should control legislation and public safety. They had the chance to install a Sentencing commission to rip apart the draconian, confusing, misleading, abusive sentencing laws in this state and they didn't. Just look at the budgets that were presented by both parties. Niether one said one word about Prisons. The CDCr is the most expensive failed system we have and not one word.

Our legislature is BOUGHT AND PAID FOR.

Clemency? citizens making the decision? based on what? The system is broken, it started with the move from indeterminate to determinate sentencing and went downhill from there. Add to that the war on drugs, the horrible 'law and order' intitatives that voters passed into law and you have a dysfunctional system that serves no one well.

You want to fix this mess? Change sentencing laws, quit throwing non-violent drug offenders in prison, get rid of three strikes. Require parole only for violent, or sex offenders. Quit forcing inmates to return to the same place they got arrested when they are released. Make it law that paroleees can't be sent to back to prison for being late to an appointment or testing positive for drugs or alcohol, give time off sentences for program completion, getting a high school diploma, or learning a trade (3-12 months off depending on complexity of the program). Prohibit CCPOA and other 'prison interest' lobbies from funding initiatives that only serve to lock more people up; same with their big contributions to the legislators that they can count on to kill any bill that might release inmates early or lock fewer people up. As long as warehousing 176,000 people is in the financial interest of a large group of people with virtually unlimited funds you can be sure this system won't change

Thirteen years ago in the cozy Southern California neighborhood of Agoura Hills, Jimmy Farris lost his life in a backyard brawl during a teenage confrontation over marijuana.

Brandon Hein took part in the fight, and so did several other boys, including Jason Holland, who admitted to stabbing young Farris during the struggle.

I recently attended a screening of "Reckless Indifference" at California Lutheran University that provided documented evidence from all sides. I was heartbroken and shocked to find out that this sentence had really been given to Brandon. It was a prejudicial situation from the start because the teenage victim in this backyard brawl was the son of a Los Angeles Police Department officer. Add to that a vicious and aggressive prosecution by the District Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, and the result was the sentencing of life in prison for all three boys.

A group of parents, independent thinkers and experts has spent more than a decade trying to gain release for Brandon. It is clear that Brandon's only crime was drinking and getting involved in a fight that resulted in tragic consequences. How can participation in a backyard brawl be grounds for life imprisonment? Who is immune? What teenage boy has not been vulnerable to those circumstances in some variation? I have yet to meet a perfect teenager who has not made a choice at some time that might have exposed himself or someone else to unfortunate circumstances or potential tragedy.

Because life cannot be returned to Jimmy Farris, what right do we have to take away Brandon's freedom for the rest of his life? In an attempt to balance the loss of Jimmy, we have turned the table and sentenced a young man with the same litmus as a Charles Manson-type murderer. Where is the justice? Who is safer because this young man is locked up?

The frightening thing is that this verdict could truly happen to anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time. I dare say, had Jimmy been on the other side of this incident, his parents would have moved mountains to keep him from going to prison, let alone for life.

We have lost sight of the value and rights of Brandon. We have traded those critically important standards — to secure what? To punish whom and why? After thousands of years of civilization, we have still not learned why the necessary component of mercy is the only thing that separates us from a crippled, harsh and ill-equipped Neanderthal society. America has lost something — something serious. I fear she has lost her heart.

This young man is rotting away in maximum security. Someone had better explain to this mother why. I am horrified at this sentencing. Has our legal and judicial system thrown away all sense of measure and mercy, and what cost will we pay in the end? The loss here is a whole life locked away for good. How can this be? What crime so great did Brandon commit? What did he do to deserve life imprisonment without parole?

There are times in this experience we call life that all answers and explanations fail the situations or circumstances. It is often the name of the crime upon which a life shatters, not the nameless and personal act itself.

I ask all who read this to take some time to explore Brandon's story on http://www.brandonhein.com. Please contact the governor and ask him to extend executive clemency and commutation of sentence. It takes real courage to right this wrong.

We're trusting you, governor.

— Karen Baxter lives in Malibu.

Human trafficking is nonviolent? How so

Thirteen years ago in the cozy Southern California neighborhood of Agoura Hills, Jimmy Farris lost his life in a backyard brawl during a teenage confrontation over marijuana.

Brandon Hein took part in the fight, and so did several other boys, including Jason Holland, who admitted to stabbing young Farris during the struggle.

I recently attended a screening of "Reckless Indifference" at California Lutheran University that provided documented evidence from all sides. I was heartbroken and shocked to find out that this sentence had really been given to Brandon. It was a prejudicial situation from the start because the teenage victim in this backyard brawl was the son of a Los Angeles Police Department officer. Add to that a vicious and aggressive prosecution by the District Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, and the result was the sentencing of life in prison for all three boys.

A group of parents, independent thinkers and experts has spent more than a decade trying to gain release for Brandon. It is clear that Brandon's only crime was drinking and getting involved in a fight that resulted in tragic consequences. How can participation in a backyard brawl be grounds for life imprisonment? Who is immune? What teenage boy has not been vulnerable to those circumstances in some variation? I have yet to meet a perfect teenager who has not made a choice at some time that might have exposed himself or someone else to unfortunate circumstances or potential tragedy.

Because life cannot be returned to Jimmy Farris, what right do we have to take away Brandon's freedom for the rest of his life? In an attempt to balance the loss of Jimmy, we have turned the table and sentenced a young man with the same litmus as a Charles Manson-type murderer. Where is the justice? Who is safer because this young man is locked up?

The frightening thing is that this verdict could truly happen to anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time. I dare say, had Jimmy been on the other side of this incident, his parents would have moved mountains to keep him from going to prison, let alone for life.

We have lost sight of the value and rights of Brandon. We have traded those critically important standards — to secure what? To punish whom and why? After thousands of years of civilization, we have still not learned why the necessary component of mercy is the only thing that separates us from a crippled, harsh and ill-equipped Neanderthal society. America has lost something — something serious. I fear she has lost her heart.

This young man is rotting away in maximum security. Someone had better explain to this mother why. I am horrified at this sentencing. Has our legal and judicial system thrown away all sense of measure and mercy, and what cost will we pay in the end? The loss here is a whole life locked away for good. How can this be? What crime so great did Brandon commit? What did he do to deserve life imprisonment without parole?

There are times in this experience we call life that all answers and explanations fail the situations or circumstances. It is often the name of the crime upon which a life shatters, not the nameless and personal act itself.

I ask all who read this to take some time to explore Brandon's story on http://www.brandonhein.com. Please contact the governor and ask him to extend executive clemency and commutation of sentence. It takes real courage to right this wrong.

We're trusting you, governor.

— Karen Baxter lives in Malibu.

Karen- Unfortunately your story is the same story told over and over all across this country. Our Justice system is less about justice and more about conviction and job promotion than anything else. California's Felony Murder Law that convicts anyone and everyone as if they committed the actual murder is destroying youth. We have become a compassionless, heartless nation because we are fed propaganda constantly by the media and constantly campaigning politicians who soap box tougher and tougher penalties for crime. They lead us to believe that crime is out of control when in fact it isn't. Zero tolerance is our motto. We have criminalized everything. Law enforcement takes every law that we vote for and twists it into something unrecognizable. 3 strikes is perfect example. 3 violent offenses has become 2 serious and 1 petty crime for life in prison. We the public get used by special interest groups that profit off putting our children in prison. Unfortunately it won't be reformed because it is the right thing to do, but it may be reformed because our laws are helping to bankrupt California. Our Governor does't give a damn about anyone in prison. He overturns 99% of every lifer parole release recommended. Maybe Assemblymen Nunez sons case will get our legislators to actually try legislating and begin true reform for the justice and prison system. The tough on crime tactics don't work and never have worked. Truly violent types need prison, but being in the wrong place at the right time is no reason to destroy a young life. Revenge is an ugly human trait. I wish you all the luck. More and more families are getting caught up in the system. Most think it can't happen to them, until it does. Then they see the truth about the sham our justice system really is.

I feel that if we're to grapple with this, we must discuss the prison catastrophe among ourselves. Burying our heads in the sand about prisons is exactly why it has gotten so bad. Unthinking people who say, "I never do anything wrong, so I have nothing to be afraid of," are at the root of the evasion of responsibility regarding our prisons.

To my mind, the basic issue of prison reform is a straightforward choice: do we want prisoners to come out better, or worse, than when they went in? Do we want them to improve their behavior, or worsen it, as a result of being in the prisons we build and maintain?

If we want them to improve their behavior, then we have to treat them with respect and non-violence, and give them sentences of a duration that is effective for their rehabilitation, not sentences that destroy their lives.

Of course physical force is required at times. But physical force is vastly different from brutal violence meted out for no other reason than to vent the rage and arrogance of some untrained supervision staff.

The vast majority of people we Americans put in prison are harmed, not helped, by being there, and as a result, come out more harmful, not less harmful, than when they went in. For one thing, they're in so long that they cannot get a job when they get out. Their health is often ruined by the diet (almost total lack of fresh wholesome food and predominance of processed foods dosed with chemicals, processed meats full of carcinogenic nitrates, total reliance on milled grains --- white flour etc., overdosing with sugar, and on and on), cold sleeping conditions (one blanket maximum per man), and scarcity of medical aid. Their self-respect is shattered almost beyond repair by the culture of violence and dehumanizing attitudes inside. Their family may ignore them, leaving them feeling completely worthless. They may be removed to another state against their will, far from any family they may have. Thousands stay doped up on pot, as The System turns a blind eye, because smoking pot makes them more manageable.

Thousands upon thousands of young American men grow to manhood in prison, under the role model of prison guards who brutalize and dehumanize them. These unfortunate men, when finally released, often feel that to brutalize is the right thing, the manly thing, to do. When they have children, they are far more apt to physically punish their children than are parents who have not been subjected to prison life. Further aggravating the family life of a man who grew up in prison is the ethic of silent, unthinking endurance he succumbs to in order to cope with the random and unexplained brutalities and pain inflicted upon him. Like an animal that receives inexplicable electric shocks it cannot prevent, the prison culture is based on withdrawal and inactive endurance.

Research has shown that it is precisely these two traits, physical punishment and lack of verbalizing with their kids, that are the deciding factors that limit childhood intelligence. Kids of parents who do not harshly punish them physically, and who talk with them a lot, develop their intelligence to their fullest possible capacity, whereas the opposite is true of unfortunate children raised without these two benefits.

This is perhaps the biggest tragedy of our catastrophic prison system --- causing hundreds of thousands of American children to have stunted intelligence, not to mention all the other horrors of growing up while having a close family member inside one of our windowless torture buildings. Do we seriously want to produce this kind of citizen?

The choice is ours. "Tough on crime" means "blind on crime." Brutalizing our citizens rather than rehabilitating them will only harm the larger citizenry in general.

Prison brutality makes things worse. Do not vote for any candidate who claims to be tough on crime. Talk it over with your friends, and perhaps phone up your representatives and express your concerns that we must work for rehabilitation, not vengeance.

In Japan, prison guards must train for a year before beginning to take responsibility inside. No prison sentence there is more than five years, because longer sentences do more harm than good. Guards there are trained in all manner of using physical force, but only when necessary, and never, ever in anger or disrespect. They learn above all to model human decency and fairness to the inmates. If a guard strikes an inmate there, the guard goes to prison for several years. The Japanese have devised this rehabilitative, respectful prison system because they know they cannot afford the problems that brutality and vengeful attitudes always create. And, they learned this system from us. This is how our prison system used to be!

We need a new, reasonable clemency, very definitely. Much, much shorter prison sentences would be vastly more effective than the inhumanly long sentences we now mete out. Inmates say they would prefer the lashes of the Arabic justice system over the life-ruining long years of our supposedly-more-humane system.

But more importantly, we need to revamp the entire court process. This idea of scaring men into taking a deal rather than being heard by the judge is putting tens of thousands of men behind bars without ever a shred of evidence being established. In Japan, as one example of a civilized system, all parties come before the judge within a very few days of the charges being filed, and all must have it out face to face. This prevents all the opportunity the prosecution has to falsify charges against people that our system now turns a blind eye to.

Especially horrible is the full-bore witch hunt now going on by allowing unidentified children to ruin mens lives and the lives of their families. Who ever sees the child who is supposedly "molested" in sex-accusation witch hunts?

Sure, every so often there is a horrible child molestation case somewhere in the country. But the national media, by putting the story on every front page from Boulder to Birmingham has created the impression that this type of insane crime occurs with high frequency. Rumors are put out in place of any factual knowledge, saying that every man accused of child molesting would rape a child if he could get away with it. Pure uninformed hysteria.

A child or young adult, coached by a guardian of some type, now has complete power to ruin the life of a teacher or a priest, and with total impunity. Moreover, DA's now have complete freedom to build such cases against men without ever worrying that they may have to actually bring children into court --- they brag about such capability on the Internet, in fact. They can go on for months building their case, while the accused man is advised to allow them to do so. (Whose side is his attorney on?) The judge (whether acting or real) knows the police report is almost totally gained on false pretenses and not backed by any hard evidence, a sloppy stack of dozens of unorganized pages with provocative words scattered throughout, designed with the sole purpose of scaring the accused into accepting the deal. Wives rarely insist on having a copy, and if they do, the emotional impact of such a document is so shocking, few wives have the strength to analyze it objectively. The accused is never given time to read it through. It is designed to be thumbed through under extreme pressure, and to evoke total fear in the reader.

The DA knows that 95% of the men so accused will be given no real choice but to accept the "deal" offered to them rather than to risk a trial, because the uninformed public is so inflamed by the media, and so ignorant of the realities of any such case, that to risk a trial will invariably lead to decades or life in prison. The DA's know the friends and families of the accused will be terrified into silence by the stories of murders against men so accused. It is a real Catch 22 --- a veritable witch hunt --- a man so accused has absolutely no way to prove his innocence. How many of our teachers and priests and loving fathers are now wasting away, wives' and childrens lives also destroyed, by this Scarlet Letter prosecution, prison-filling mill? How many young men choose not to go into teaching or the priesthood for the same reasons? How many children lose out because male teachers and priests become frigid zombie strangers in their presence?

Where are the numbers? Where are the news investigations? There are none. No one can even begin to research this, because organized, self-appointed vigilantes attack anyone, even the American Psychological Association, who does any research on the issue. The US Congress, led by a rabid female radio doctor, chastised the APA for doing research, very valid scientific research, in this area. Only 12 Congress members did not vote to censure the APA. If even the venerated APA is scared into scientific catatonia, who else would dare to research the topic of the effects of touching children with affection?

So, since there is virtually no scientific knowledge base in this issue, how can there be any expert trial witnesses? It's a total witch hunt, run by ignorant people and fed on ignorant rumors, and damaging the US profoundly in our ability to grapple with the prison/judicial system. Unless this issue of formless accusations supposedly brought by hidden children who are never identified is settled, all the other prison issues will not be settled. For all the judge, the press, or the public knows, any of the children who bring these accusations might be being kept captive themselves, trained in faking a molestation, dressed in provocative clothing for the stunt, under the guardianship of a supposed foster parent who moves into town with the child, stages the supposed molestation, and when the coast is clear and the accused has given up his right to a trial (95% probability he will do so), moves on to another town and uses the child in the same way again. Can we ever prove that this does NOT happen? How? Does anyone ever see the child who brings the first allegation against a man?

By all reports, the first child to bring such an allegation matches the description above. Then, the police say the man confessed (he did not, but who's to stop them from saying it?), and go door to door interviewing (read "interrogating" because that's what it feels like to the children they question), saying So and So confessed to such and such --- did he "also" do your daughter? Is the first child to bring such an allegation ever fingerprinted, photographed, or otherwise identified? No, they're not even named. Even the attorneys get a redacted police report, names removed. And every comment by any other child after the first one, even if the child says the accused did "nothing inappropriate," is counted as another charge of child molesting against the accused. If a dozen children talk to the police, the police report will contain a dozen charges of child molesting against the man, even if ALL of them say he did nothing inappropriate, or touched her head, or patted her back. Each of those charges carries a sentence of 15 years to life. The man is told by his high-priced attorney that even if one child is believed by a jury he could get life. Thus, he has no choice but to take the "deal," say the word "guilty," and say goodbye to his life and family.

We need to blow this thing wide open. Wives of men so accused need to be able to speak out in public without fear that their husbands will be brutalized for it in prison. Anyone bringing such a charge against a man (or against a woman, though these instances are a bit rare) must be called before the judge, with child in tow and identified, within a week of the accusation, allowing the accused to have his constitutional right of meeting his accuser face to face.

I agree with most of what has been said by the commenters above whom are much more articulate than I. The only thing I have to say is, the three strikes law has been misused horribly. I would like to see it amended to only be used for the most violent and despicable crimes. It seems appalling to have someone thrown into prison for life because they fell on hard times and stole a loaf of bread. I do not however want to see it gone only used properly .I have an offender in a Northern California prison whose third strike was the murder by abuse and torture of my 12 year old grandson Chris Cejas. This monster would have only gotten 25 to life and out less than 20, but because of the three strikes he got 75 to life eligible for parole in 38 years which will make him 76 years old. So for me three strikes worked as it was meant to work.

For-Retribution-Only punishment is bankrupting the state and ruining salvageable lives and families while costing us tax payers $billions.

A clemency panel makes a lot of sense and would save us lots of money.

Many ex-felons remain warehoused in prison because of our unreasonably long sentences, and parole denials that may last for decades, and our replacing mental hospitals with prison time. Ex-felons should have vocational training, followed by support once they are released. That would keep many from returning through the revolving door called the parole system and save us lots of money.

Spending only $2K annually for rehabilitation is ridiculously low when keeping them in prison cost nearly $50K for a year. Let’s save some money by being smart-on-crime rather than tough-on-crime.

Some of you guys are lacking common sense! Spend some time and look up the penal code that Schwarzenegger will use to define Violent Crimes. More than half of the people in prison already have extensive criminal histories including juvenile offenses and probation. You say the poor drug users are in prison, but how do you think they support their habits? They don’t have jobs! They steal from people like you and I! Do you really think someone breaking into your home, stealing your identity, or vandalizing your car is victimless? I would rather get beat-up then have one if these inmates enter my home burglarizing me and violate my families’ sense of security.
Prison should not be for rehabilitation it should be for punishment!
How about the working poor who abide by the laws but go to bed cold and hungry? They don’t get free medical, dental or three square meals a day like the inmates. If you let these guys out and they commit another non-violent crime what will happen, nothing? If there is no consequence for their actions then what will deter them from committing new crimes? I would gladly pay an extra $25 or $50 dollars a month to keep these people locked up so my family does not have to be worried about being victimized.
A large majority of these inmates get on psychotropic medications inside the prison so when they get out they can collect SSI (welfare) which averages $800 plus a month. That’s more than the average person who worked most of their life will receive for social security. The only reason the prison budget is out of control is the inmate sue the state to get what they want and the state cowers down to avoid lawsuits. Did you know EVERY inmate who violates their parole receives a FREE attorney paid by the state? Not a public defender, an attorney that is contracted by the state and is assigned to the inmate to help them beat their violation and to ensure their due possess rights are not violated. What about the victims rights?!

Please go to www.brandonhein.com and find out for yourself what can really happen to someone in the wrong place at the wrong time. It truly could be anyone's brother, friend or son. Sign the petition to the Governor of California and spread Brandon's story via email or anyway you can. This young man has already spent 13 years of his young life in maximum security for being in a backyard brawl that resulted in tragic consequences that he was not responsible for. See for yourself what really happened. We have lost sight of this individual's rights. Once you are in the system you are in the system...do we really comprehend the slippery slope anyone could fall in? Think about it....

Please go to www.brandonhein.com and find out for yourself what can really happen to someone in the wrong place at the wrong time. It truly could be anyone's brother, friend or son. Sign the petition to the Governor of California and spread Brandon's story via email or anyway you can. This young man has already spent 13 years of his young life in maximum security for being in a backyard brawl that resulted in tragic consequences that he was not responsible for. See for yourself what really happened. We have lost sight of this individual's rights. Once you are in the system you are in the system...do we really comprehend the slippery slope anyone could fall in? Think about it....

I recently located my uncle, a Navy veteran of over thirty years, who committed two separate murders (first was due to someone attempting to rob him and the second was because his mother and sister were being violently threatened from a known thug and bully in the neighborhood) The second incident was truly an accident. My uncle has been in prison for 29 years and has suffered several strokes. I would like to ask for clemency and come to pick him up and take care of him. I am in Michigan, where do I start?

Governor Schwarzenegger - Why the Felony Murder Rule must GO!
The case of Brandon Hein is further evidence that collective attribution of guilt/crime is an abdication of individual value and a blurring of personal responsibility. Why is a whole group responsible for the act of a single person? As in Brandon Hein's case involving a backyard brawl with teenagers over marijuana, where one individual chose to use a pocket knife that ended tragically. The other individuals, including Brandon Hein, never gave consent to such an act. The 'blame game' is just as stupid if you set the person free that did it because the rest of the group didn't do it: collective innocence!!! Perfect justice is to require personal responsibility for the deed by the killer. Every other person cannot be blamed! It is fundamentally unfair and in violation of basic principles of individual criminal culpability to hold one felon liable for the unseen and un agreed-to results of another felon’s action. The felony murder rule violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of due process, more specifically, equal protection of the law, because no defense is allowed on the charge of first-degree murder, only the underlying felony. The felony murder rule is unconstitutional because the presumption of innocence is thrown out. The prosecutor must only prove intent to commit the original felony; once done, first degree murder attaches to the underlying felony even though intent, to commit murder does not have to be proved. The felony murder rule is unconstitutional because it violates the Eighth Amendment: cruel and unusual punishment, grossly disproportionate sentencing to the crime(s) actually committed. California is one of only eight states in the United States that still recognizes and practices an ancient law brought over from England in the 1700’s called the Felony Murder Rule (FMR). This little known, yet controversial law has been declared unconstitutional in the other 42 states of the United States, as well as every democratic country in the free world including England where it originated. But here in the State of California, it is alive and well. This is America - not North Korea. Collectivist injustice is not Constitutional justice. Brandon Hein's case should not need to go all the way to the US Supreme Court. If it does, those who do participate in or reject their opportunity to act responsibly bring shame on us all. Our California Governor should do the heroic thing. Will he? We'll see....

Karen Baxter

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" attributed to William E. Gladstone quoted by King

1986 my son Kevin was 16yrs old when he committed the crime of murder,well thats the official name murder. He took the life of another not meaning to not planning to and a public defender talked him into a plea bargain 25yrs to life 1st degree, with the possibility of parole. Kevin will be 40years old in November 09. A model inmate, and yet if California has it's way he will die in prison so who is the murderer? California took his life. The seriousness of the crime was the deciding factor to try him as an adult. The seriousness of the crime has been the factor of his denials for parole. So the great state of california needs to accept the seriousness of the crime will never diminish but the life skills of my son are a credit to him despite a life time incarcerated. When is enough enough. He has no family in America and yet California will not repatriate him to a British prison even after having been accepted by them. How much is a pound of Californian flesh worth? Seems for a 16 year old 23 years is not long enough.Kevin Anditon D96017 CMC San Luis Obispo Ca. Deserves Clemency.

1986 my son Kevin was 16yrs old when he committed the crime of murder,well thats the official name murder. He took the life of another not meaning to not planning to and a public defender talked him into a plea bargain 25yrs to life 1st degree, with the possibility of parole. Kevin will be 40years old in November 09. A model inmate, and yet if California has it's way he will die in prison so who is the murderer? California took his life. The seriousness of the crime was the deciding factor to try him as an adult. The seriousness of the crime has been the factor of his denials for parole. So the great state of california needs to accept the seriousness of the crime will never diminish but the life skills of my son are a credit to him despite a life time incarcerated. When is enough enough. He has no family in America and yet California will not repatriate him to a British prison even after having been accepted by them. How much is a pound of Californian flesh worth? Seems for a 16 year old 23 years is not long enough.Kevin Anditon D96017 CMC San Luis Obispo Ca. Deserves Clemency.

1986 my son Kevin was 16yrs old when he committed the crime of murder,well thats the official name murder. He took the life of another not meaning to not planning to and a public defender talked him into a plea bargain 25yrs to life 1st degree, with the possibility of parole. Kevin will be 40years old in November 09. A model inmate, and yet if California has it's way he will die in prison so who is the murderer? California took his life. The seriousness of the crime was the deciding factor to try him as an adult. The seriousness of the crime has been the factor of his denials for parole. So the great state of california needs to accept the seriousness of the crime will never diminish but the life skills of my son are a credit to him despite a life time incarcerated. When is enough enough. He has no family in America and yet California will not repatriate him to a British prison even after having been accepted by them. How much is a pound of Californian flesh worth? Seems for a 16 year old 23 years is not long enough.Kevin Anditon D96017 CMC San Luis Obispo Ca. Deserves Clemency.

Sorry, comments are temporarily disabled. We're doing a bit of server maintenance on the commenting area. We'll be back up and running shortly. Thank you for your patience.