In re Shaputis
Petitioner Richard Shaputis was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years to life following his 1987 conviction for second degree murder. Shaputis, now nearly 71 years old, has been in prison for the past 20 years. Although Shaputis first became eligible for parole in 1998, the former Board of Prison Terms (now Board of Parole Hearings, hereafter BPH)--despite Shaputis's exemplary conduct in prison and his unblemished record of rehabilitative progress--found him unsuitable for parole at hearings conducted in 1997, in 2002, and finally in 2004. After the 2004 denial of parole by the BPH, this court granted Shaputis's petition for writ of habeas corpus because we found no evidence to support the BPH's conclusion that Shaputis would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety were he released. (In re Shaputis (Dec. 28, 2005) D046356, opn. ordered nonpub. May 17, 2006 (Shaputis I).) However, this court did not order the BPH to set a parole date. Instead, we remanded the matter to the BPH with directions to hold a new parole suitability hearing and consider whether there was any new evidence, apart from the evidence available to it at the 2004 hearing, which might support a finding that Shaputis would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety were he released from prison. (Id at pp. 19-21.)
The BPH held a new suitability hearing and, operating under the guidelines of Shaputis I, concluded he was suitable for parole because there was no new evidence supporting a conclusion he would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society if released. However, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger found Shaputis did pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society if released and reversed the BPH's decision. Shaputis filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court, which was denied, and Shaputis now petitions this court for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging the Governor's decision. In the face of such evidence, Court are compelled to affirm the Governor's decision.
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