Opinion ID: 3179278
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Masters’s Social History

Text: Masters, various family members, and others familiar with his social history testified about his family and his childhood and teenage years. Craig Haney was a psychology professor. In his testimony, he divided Masters‘s social history into five stages. The first stage, from birth to age six, was 17 a period of neglect and abandonment by his family. The second stage, from ages six to nine, was a period of positive social development, although it was tinged with pain due to Masters‘s separation from his biological family. The third stage, from ages nine to 15, was a period of distrust of adult authority figures amid increasing influence by neighborhood gangs. The fourth stage, from ages 15 to 18, was a period marked by both negative and positive experiences in institutional settings. The fifth stage was Masters‘s imprisonment in San Quentin, which Dr. Haney described as being placed in ―the worst prison in the California system at the worst time in its history.‖ Cynthia Campbell was Masters‘s mother. She had a total of eight children with five men. Masters was her fifth child and the second of three fathered by her husband at the time, Billy Masters. The marriage was unstable and beset with violence. The family lived on welfare and moved frequently due to lack of money for rent. Billy frequently physically abused Campbell and threatened to kill her. When Masters was about two years old, Billy set a fire in their house. Masters‘s maternal aunt and uncle arrived to find the children screaming and crying. The parents were fighting. Billy brandished a straight razor and threatened to kill them all. Masters‘s uncle hit Billy with a pipe until he ran away. He did not return to the family. Masters had no childhood memories of his father. After Billy left, Campbell became a prostitute and drug user. She essentially provided no care for the children. Eventually, they moved into a house with Otis Harris. This relationship was also a violent one. On one occasion, Masters and his siblings hid under a bed while Harris beat Campbell until she lost consciousness. The children continued to be neglected. Campbell had sex with numerous men in the house. Masters sometimes secretly watched. Harris and Campbell sold and took drugs in the house. Masters felt that things were best when Campbell and Harris were high on drugs because they would be more calm. 18 After his mother gave birth to twins, Masters‘s older sister was responsible for taking care of the girl while Masters was responsible for taking care of the boy. The boy later died of sudden infant death syndrome. Often the children would be left alone for days without sufficient food. Campbell would sometimes arrange for other prostitutes to babysit, and they would occasionally give Masters alcohol. The house was dirty, as were the children. Eventually, people at the children‘s schools began washing the children and their clothes. Harris never exhibited any affection toward Masters. He hit Masters numerous times with his hands and an electrical cord. When Masters was four or five years old, he stood with a butcher knife over a sleeping Harris and contemplated stabbing him. When Masters was six years old, the children were placed in foster care. Masters was separated from his siblings and placed with an elderly couple, the Procks. They took good care of him. Masters became particularly close to his foster mother. When Masters was around nine years old, Mrs. Prock died, and he was placed in a new foster home. He stayed there for about a year. His new foster parents favored their biological children and treated the foster children as the ―chorekeepers‖ of the house. Masters began running away to the Procks‘ house, particularly after he was not allowed to attend Mrs. Prock‘s funeral. Masters was then placed in several juvenile facilities. He preferred this to living with foster parents, although he occasionally ran away. Masters received sporadic visits from various family members. When Masters was 12 years old, he was placed in the home of his maternal uncle and his wife. He lived with them and their two children for several years. During that time, Masters‘s mother bought him a bike and used him as a courier for delivering drugs to her customers. Masters also became exposed to gangs through his older half-brother, Tommy. After the incident in which he shot at a 19 house, Masters was placed in juvenile camps for a number of months. When he returned to his aunt‘s house, he became heavily involved with a gang. He had numerous disciplinary problems at school and was disrespectful toward authority figures. The school Masters attended was considered a ―holding tank‖ for problem students. At one point, his social worker had him committed to a hospital for psychological treatment, including forced medication. When Masters was 15 years old, he was placed under the care of the California Youth Authority. Violence between the wards and between the staff and the wards was prevalent. Masters had testified in a civil trial regarding the conditions at a facility where he was housed. When Masters was 16 years old, he was transferred to a different institution. Masters responded well to the emphasis on positive reinforcement. He excelled in sports, was placed on the academic honor roll, and obtained his high school diploma. A counselor testified that Masters was the ―top ward in the dorm.‖ After a year, Masters was paroled to a group home in Stockton. Masters‘s family reunited, and he returned to Southern California to join them. Masters‘s mother was still using drugs. At times, she used Masters to deliver drugs for her. Masters stayed at his aunt‘s house, but he was surrounded by gangs and criminal activity. After his arrest for robbing a gas station, on the night of his 18th birthday, a group of deputies at the jail beat him up.