A California parole board policy on life without parole inmates has sparked a lawsuit, with Laci Peterson’s family warning it could reopen old wounds.
A California parole policy is heading to court after victims’ advocates warned the change could create new paths to freedom for some of the state’s most notorious killers. The California Board of Parole Hearings has approved a policy that could allow recommendations for resentencing or clemency for people serving life without parole, and opponents say that includes serial killers, mass shooters and other violent offenders the public would expect to remain locked up.
Anne Marie Schubert, the former Sacramento district attorney who now leads the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, said the policy reaches far beyond ordinary parole questions. She described the inmates who could be affected as “the worst of the worst,” including cop killers, baby killers and mass shooters. Schubert said her group filed suit with victims’ families and nonprofit organizations to block the policy before it takes effect in October. California’s Office of Administrative Law approved the board’s new rule on July 9.
At the center of the fight is a claim that the parole board went too far by using rulemaking power to build what amounts to a new resentencing and clemency process. Schubert said the board lacks the legal authority to alter sentencing rules that came from the Legislature and ballot measures. She also argued the policy conflicts with Marsy’s Law, the victim-rights measure approved in California in 2008, which was meant to protect the finality of judgments and spare families from repeated hearings tied to old crimes.
The lawsuit, filed July 15 in Sacramento Superior Court, says the board is creating a system that mirrors parole hearings and goes against laws that set life without parole as the minimum sentence for first-degree murder with special circumstances. The petition also says the new process would force victims’ families to relive traumatic cases that were supposed to be closed. Schubert said the policy could touch thousands of inmates.
“A California parole board policy on life without parole inmates has sparked a lawsuit, with Laci Peterson’s family warning it could reopen old wounds.”
Among the names she pointed to is Scott Peterson, who was convicted of killing his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son after she disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002. She also cited David Hill, who killed San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza in 2004 and wounded his partner, and Darryl Lamar Collins, who was released early in 2017 under California’s youthful offender parole changes after serving time for two murders in 1995 and later killed his girlfriend, Fatima Johnson.
Sharon Rocha, Laci Peterson’s mother, said in a statement that her family believed Scott Peterson’s life-without-parole sentence would bring certainty after the death sentence was overturned. She said victims should not have to spend their lives wondering whether the person responsible might get another shot at release. Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she vanished from her Modesto home, and her body and the body of her unborn son, Conner, were later found in the San Francisco Bay.
Laci Peterson’s close friend Kim Juarez said the new policy is especially painful because the family already went through years of appeals and sentencing changes. Juarez said the only certainty after Peterson was sentenced to life without parole was that he would never get out, and she called the prospect of another possible path to freedom deeply upsetting. She said the case has shadowed the family and friends for more than two decades and remains tied to every holiday season and family memory.
The dispute also follows an unsuccessful push in the California Legislature last year to broaden parole eligibility for some younger inmates serving life without parole through SB 672. Schubert said lawmakers could not get that bill passed, so the board is now trying to reach a similar result through bureaucracy instead. The board has said in public filings that state law does not bar it from considering such cases, arguing that Penal Code sections 1172.1 and 4801 give it discretion to refer cases for resentencing or commutation review. For American readers, the fight shows how far a state can go in revisiting final criminal sentences, and the next step is whether the courts let California keep moving ahead or force the board to pull back.
Frequently asked questions
What policy is being challenged in California?
The policy would let the Parole Board recommend resentencing or clemency for some inmates serving life without parole. Critics say it could reach serial killers, mass shooters and other violent offenders.
Who filed the lawsuit against the policy?
The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation filed the suit along with a coalition of victims’ families and nonprofit groups. Anne Marie Schubert leads the organization.
Why are Laci Peterson’s loved ones involved?
Sharon Rocha and Kim Juarez say the policy could reopen a case they believed was finally settled. They argue Scott Peterson’s life-without-parole sentence should remain final.
How has the board defended the new rule?
In public filings, the board said California law does not exclude life-without-parole inmates from consideration. It argued that existing statutes give it discretion to review and refer cases.
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