Governor Newsom’s Early Release of Murderers is Illegal

On December 14, 2023, the California Board of Parole Hearings, which is under Governor Gavin Newsom’s authority, approved parole for child murderer Patrick Goodman. Goodman, a repeat felon, beat his girlfriend’s three-year-old son to death in 2000. The medical examiner confirmed that the little boy died of a broken neck, broken ribs, a severed bowel, a severed artery and 50 separate external injuries. In 2002, Goodwin was convicted of murder and child abuse in a San Francisco court and was sentenced to 25-years-to-life.

Fifteen years later, in 2017, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) adopted new administrative regulations which gave itself the power to shorten the minimum time in prison for murder. Another four years after that, CDCR doubled down on these regulations and further increased its ability to shorten murder sentences. These regulations qualified Goodman for a parole hearing three years before his minimum sentence was served.

Assistant San Francisco District Attorney Victoria Baldocchi pleaded with the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) commissioners not to parole Goodman. “His murder robbed a baby child of a fourth birthday. Learning how to shave, his first kiss, of going to college, of making cards for his mother on Mother’s Day, celebrating his siblings’ birthdays. I suggest he (Goodwin) is still in denial as to how brutal his murder was of this tiny little innocent human,” said Baldocchi.

After 15 minutes of deliberation, 2 board commissioners reviewing the case announced, “We find that Mr. Goodman does not currently pose an unreasonable risk to public safety and is therefore suitable for parole.”

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has contacted Governor Newsom asking that he overturn the BPH’s decision. But there is a problem. Governor Newsom has promised to close several California prisons and spend the savings on rehabilitation programs. This requires a sharp reduction in the state’s prison population. To accomplish this, he authorized the CDCR to adopt those administrative regulations to dramatically increase the “good time” credits needed to qualify inmates, including murderers, for early release after serving only half of their sentences in some cases. The CDCR asserted that it acquired the authority to do this from Proposition 57, “The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016.”

Both Governor Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta supported that ballot measure.

The day before the BPH’s decision to parole Goodman, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jennifer K. Rockwell handed down a decision holding that Proposition 57 did not give the CDCR and BPH the authority to parole murderers like Goodman before they have served the entire minimum sentence of 25 years. The decision came in the case of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation v. CDCR, a lawsuit on behalf of the families of crime victims challenging the legality of expanding “good time” credits in order to grant early release to more criminals. CJLF argued that the ballot measure did not repeal state laws which specify the minimum time for life inmates to qualify for parole, and that the administrative regulations adopted by the CDCR violate those laws.On January 26, 2024, the court issued a Writ of Mandate prohibiting the CDCR from releasing any murderer sentenced to 25-years-to-life until he has served the full 25 years.

Will the CDCR comply with the court’s mandate? Attorney General Bonta claims that because his office has filed a notice of appeal regarding Judge Rockwell’s decision, the CDCR does not have to comply with the Writ of Mandate.

California law does not support that claim, but more litigation may be required to make this clear. Goodman could be released while this is occurring.

Governor Newsom can prevent this injustice with a stroke of his pen.