Opinion ID: 844231
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The 2009 Hearing

Text: At the latest hearing in August 2009, petitioner was 72 years old. It was noted that he had a comfortable private income from a union pension, Social Security, and some savings. He planned to live with his wife in a retirement community. Petitioner suffers from high blood pressure and has had three heart attacks, the most recent in 2003. He was recovering from shoulder surgery at the time of the hearing. As noted, petitioner had declined to be interviewed by the psychologist appointed by CDCR to evaluate him in advance of the hearing, Dr. Nameeta Sahni. [4] Dr. Sahni prepared a report based on her review of the existing materials in petitioner's record, but emphasized that her inability to interview petitioner limited her evaluation of his current condition. At the hearing, petitioner declined to speak about the murder or his social history. The only newly developed evidence before the Board came from a May 2009 report by petitioner's privately retained psychologist, and the written statement petitioner prepared with the assistance of counsel. Petitioner's retained psychologist, Dr. Barbara Stark, reviewed petitioner's file, interviewed him for five and a half hours, and gave him a number of psychological tests. All the results were in the normal or average range. Dr. Stark believed the emotional and physical abuse petitioner suffered as a child had deprived him of a chance to develop critical coping abilities, but that in the last several years he had undergone significant and positive behavioral, emotional, and cognitive changes. Dr. Stark's report noted that petitioner had never been treated for mental problems in prison, that he had a history of severe alcohol dependence but had completed treatment programs in prison, and that his behavior in custody had been excellent. The report took issue with the Board's previous finding that petitioner had a history of unstable and tumultuous relationships. According to Dr. Stark, the sum of his relationships was the relationship with his wife and misconduct with his daughter while under the influence, which does not meet the level of a history of `unstable tumultuous relationships.' After asserting that petitioner's account of the murder had been consistent over the years, Dr. Stark stated: It is clear from reviewing the legal documentation that there are inconsistencies in the judicial proceedings and he has continued to accept responsibility for the offense. This has been misinterpreted as a lack of insight and remorse when he stated his version of the index offense as it occurred. She also reported that petitioner said he has been quoted many times incorrectly when the relationship with his wife was discussed. It is clear that there were inconsistencies in the investigation regarding the logistics regarding the firing of the gun during the index offense. The report discussed petitioner's insight at length, opining that his behavior had been caused by unmet emotional needs and his dependence on alcohol. He gives these as no excuses and those behaviors no longer exist in his present day life. He related his past behavior was a need to make himself feel good and he behaved in a self-centered manner to obtain those feelings that resulted in a tragedy that took his wife's life. He spoke about his early need to be accepted and ended up in a death of his wife. Dr. Stark attributed the following statements to petitioner: In the past I never knew what they meant by insight and no one asked about my feelings as a child how they made me fearful and dependent and not ever wanting to be poor. I can see how my never having been connected to others severely impaired my judgment. I never even thought at the time of the consequences of my drinking and my wife's drinking and our continuous arguments. I really had no understanding, as unbelievable as that may seem. Since that time I've done a lot of intensive groups regarding how my low self esteem, horrible substance abuse caused my detachment. I'm astonished at the time of the offense at my lack of any thoughts that this situation was out of hand. Asked specifically about the crime, petitioner said: I am aware of what I did every day. There were so many warning signs I chose to ignore. It was stupid and at the time I had no sense my actions in my home environment would lead to my wife's death. Dr. Stark concluded that petitioner posed a low risk of recidivism, and should be released on parole. In the written declaration petitioner prepared with counsel, he explained that he had not previously addressed the matter of insight because he misunderstood it and had been questioned about it only superficially. The substance of the statement is as follows: 4. Because of a fading memory, probably due to my age and illnesses, I do not have a vivid recollection of all of my previous conduct, but I do remember that I abused my wife and at least one of my daughters. I also recall my drinking habits and severe addiction to alcohol. 5. I do recognize the destructive effects of my drinking and how it terribly impaired my judgment. Over time and with treatment I have come to know that I would not have committed such horrific acts but for alcohol, but I blame myself and low morality, not alcohol, for my crime and former misconduct. Most alcoholics, those with decent character and morality, do not commit such acts. 6. In my treatment and soul searching over the years I have addressed and dealt with this issue of morality, and with the requirement of lifelong sobriety. On the former subject, I was self-centered and did not respect the needs of my wife and children. Although that was compounded and exacerbated by drinking, the basic flaw was in my own character. 7. Although I have come to understand these issues, when I look back at the way I answered questions asked by the Board and the Board's psychologists, I focused almost entirely on my present and future sobriety, and failed to adequately explain how deeply regretful I feel about my past. . . . I am making this written statement because it is now more difficult, due to my memory and illnesses, to immediately understand and reply spontaneously to questions, particularly about my past. My shame about my horrible conduct and how it impacted the victims has also played a role. 8. I want the Board, and everyone, to know that I will [ sic ] and can never again engage in such terrible conduct. How repulsive it is to me now serves as a powerful deterrent. I have learned to recognize and deal with stress in a socially acceptable manner (in this very stressful environment) and am committed to sobriety for life. . . . Because I am not mentally the same person as before, I think entirely differently, respond to stress differently, and have no use for alcohol, and because I will always feel deep sorrow for my victims and know that I am completely responsible for the offense and my previous conduct, I could never again engage in such behavior. The Board's decision to deny parole was based on the commitment offense, the long history of domestic abuse that led up to it, and defendant's failure to accept responsibility or gain insight into the reasons for the abuse and the murder. The Board recounted the history of petitioner's domestic violence, and rejected Dr. Stark's opinion that he had no history of tumultuous relationships. He had repeatedly abused both Erma and his first wife, and molested his youngest daughter, who remained in his care after his first wife left with the three older children. He had admitted only to fondling his daughter, and blamed the rest of his behavior on alcohol. The Board was skeptical that petitioner had accepted responsibility for his actions, pointing out that the expressions of remorse in his written statement and in Dr. Stark's report were the first to appear in the record. The Board questioned petitioner's credibility, observing that he had made inconsistent statements about whether his father had been abusive. The Board found that petitioner had perpetuated a pattern of domestic violence, and failed to perceive the underlying causes of that violence. The Board further pointed out that petitioner had never provided a coherent explanation of how Erma came to be shot, maintaining his claim that the killing was accidental in the face of strong evidence to the contrary. It discredited his explanation that he had misunderstood what was meant by insight, noting that this is a commonly understood term. The Board referred to a statement in petitioner's 2004 psychological evaluation, to the effect that he had yet to accept responsibility for the murder and relied on denial and rationalization to handle stress, defenses that were firmly entrenched and unlikely to change.