Gov. Paroles Second Killer
By contrast, Davis freed only eight murderers during his five-year tenure,
and
twice denied the woman freed by Schwarzenegger.
By Nancy Vogel
Times Staff Writer
November 27, 2003
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed Wednesday to parole a woman
who
killed her husband's mistress in 1987 - marking the second case in a week
in
which the newly elected governor has granted parole to a convicted
murderer and
a notable departure from the policy of his predecessor, Gray Davis.
One of the hallmarks of Davis' five years as governor was his repeated
refusal
to grant paroles approved by the state's Board of Prison Terms.
Of 294 paroles agreed to by the board in murder cases, Davis blocked all
but
eight, following his professed belief that extenuating cir***stances
should not
be used to justify homicide. He twice rejected parole for Rosario Muñoz,
the
woman Schwarzenegger has now agreed to free.
Shortly after his election, Davis said in an interview with The Times that
he
did not believe in redemption in murder cases.
"If you take someone else's life, forget it," he said. Aides later denied
that
Davis' statements expressed a firm policy, but in at least one case a
state
judge found that Davis had adopted an illegal blanket policy of denying
parole
in all murder cases.
Schwarzenegger, by contrast, appears to be taking a more liberal stance
and
providing an early indication of his overall attitude toward criminal
justice
issues.
Although Davis waited two years to approve a parole, Schwarzenegger's
first such
action came last Thursday, three days after he took office. That case
involved a
Sacramento man convicted of a 1985 murder. At the same time, the governor
denied
parole for a Visalia man who killed a woman while driving drunk in 1986.
Aides to Schwarzenegger have also said the governor is considering cuts in
the
state prison budget, which Davis protected against reductions.
"Schwarzenegger said he was going to be an economic conservative and a
social
moderate," said Dan Schnur, a Republican political consultant with close
ties to
the new administration. "Most self-described moderates would agree that
some
convicts are deserving of parole."
The governor seems more willing than Davis to chance being blamed if a
parolee
commits another crime, Schnur said.
"There's some risk every time a governor grants parole," he said. "But as
Gray
Davis discovered, there can be a political risk in appearing too rigid and
doctrinaire by rejecting every parole recommendation."
Under state law, the board makes decisions on paroles, but the governor
has the
power to reject those. The governor received that authority in 1988 under
a
ballot initiative pushed by then-Gov. George Deukmejian. California is one
of
only three states that give governors the power to veto parole decisions.
Schwarzenegger made no comment on the decision to parole Muñoz, a
51-year-old
mother of three who was convicted in 1989 of killing her husband's lover
in Los
Angeles.
"There were no issues in dispute on this case, so the recommendation from
the
Board of Prison Terms will stand," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Vince
Sollitto.
An illegal immigrant from Mexico, Muñoz may be paroled to that country.
She told
the board that she planned to live with her sisters there and work as a
graphic
designer or in a restaurant.
Schwarzenegger's decision to free Muñoz cheered inmate advocates, who hope
that
it points to a more positive future for the thousands of murderers,
rapists and
kidnappers whose fates the parole board weighs each year.
"The fact that [Schwarzenegger] has some confidence in the system and the
way
it's set up, that gives me hope," said Cheryl Montgomery, an attorney who
has
represented hundreds of inmates before the parole board.
Davis' policy "was a huge, huge breakdown in the system and an incredible
waste
to the taxpayer to be paying for this whole process that got nixed at the
final
step," she said.
The parole board had voted in both January and July 2002 to free Muñoz
after
receiving testimony from her husband, Felix Muñoz, that he had abused his
wife
"in every conceivable way."
In rejecting parole the second time, in November 2002, Davis wrote that
"given
the gravity of the crime, I believe Ms. Muñoz has not served sufficient
time in
prison and continues to pose too great a risk to public safety."
After a hearing in July, the parole board again moved to free Muñoz,
declaring
that her crime was committed "during a brief period of extreme mental and
emotional trauma."
The board's decision was based on Muñoz's apparent remorse for the
killing,
psychological evaluations that showed a very slim chance of her offending
again
and her efforts to raise money for the victim's daughter by selling
****traits,
said board spokesman Bill Sessa. While in prison, Muñoz learned to paint
****traits and speak English.
"I think that one of the more unusual aspects of her case that showed us
that
she had moved on and matured as a person is that there was a child that
was left
without a mother as a result of the crime," Sessa said. "She has provided
financial sup****t for that child the entire time she was in prison."
The shooting occurred Sept. 7, 1987, at the apartment complex of the
victim,
Julia De La Cruz, 28. Muñoz had gone to the apartment after spending
several
hours at a park with her husband and their children. According to
testimony,
Felix Muñoz had forced his wife to drink several beers at the park then
dropped
her and the children off at the clothing factory in downtown L.A. that the
couple owned.
After sewing for an hour or so, Rosario Muñoz left the children, took the
loaded
gun they kept at the factory and caught a bus to De La Cruz's apartment,
according to her statement to the parole board. She confronted her husband
and
his mistress as the two drove up in his van with De La Cruz's 14-month-old
daughter between them.
"When I saw the car approaching, I saw them laughing and with the beers in
the
hand," Muñoz told the parole board. "And I remember my family, my children
living in fear all the time. And I remembered the time that my husband
beat on
my boy in front of me."
Muñoz opened the van door and fired more than once, killing De La Cruz.
One of
the bullets grazed the child's arm.
Convicted of second-degree murder, Muñoz was sentenced to 15 years to
life.
Her daughter and sister testified to the parole board that Felix drank
excessively and frequently beat his wife and the children. Felix testified
that
his wife worked long hours besides caring for their children. He made no
secret
of his longtime relation****p with De La Cruz, who had been a live-in
baby-sitter
for the family.
Muñoz told the parole board that she once left her husband and went to
Mexico
but that her father forced her to return.
"Rosario did not deserve the nightmarish life I gave her anymore than
Julia
deserved to die," Felix Muñoz wrote to the parole board in 2001
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