The devil is in the details. Rosario Muñoz was a definite foreigner. She
shouldn't have even been protected by a legal system having denied or
having
been ignorant of its authority so blatantly to begin with by living here
as
an illegal immigrant; members of the De La Cruz family should have decided
her fate, not a jury. Being so ignorant of the law and having committed
the
most serious of crimes she is or was nothing more than an animal. And now
this animal sells paintings and knows English? Have her earn a political
science degree then unleash her to the world. Perhaps she'd have been
placated by the philosopher's stone. Most likely, Mexico has another
lawless
on its hands - one with kill points. With one kill she'll earn the respect
of others who are lawless and lead them and herself to more crimes.
And to think she didn't even kill the person who abused her; it wasn't
even
remotely in defense of her freedom. I hope the Gov knows what he's doing.
"=> Vox Populi ©" <vox@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:tOuxb.624$nb2.26106@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 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
>
>
|
