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| California County DA Creates Victims Unit |
| By San Bernardino County Sun |
| Published: 01/20/2003 |
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Victims or their loved ones will have help speaking out when life prisoners convicted of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping or sex crimes come up for parole, District Attorney Mike Ramos said. On his first day in office, Ramos announced the creation of the Prison Lifer Hearing Unit and promised that he would actively oppose the release of violent prisoners who are being considered for parole by the state Board of Prison Terms. Veteran prosecutor Jon Ferguson will run the unit with the help of Marilynn Kimball, chief of Victims Services. His cases will be reassigned to other prosecutors. With the new unit, San Bernardino County joins the ranks of many other counties statewide. Los Angeles and San Diego counties have similar units. The unit won't cost taxpayers additional money, officials say. Kimball will be in charge of finding victims or their family members and asking whether they want to be involved in the parole-hearing process. Victims in California are allowed to address the Board of Prison Terms when the commissioners are considering releasing convicts. And as part of the county's new unit, victims-impact statements given during sentencing hearings will be recorded on CD-ROM and preserved for hearings as long as 25 years from now, Kimball said. Ramos said he also plans to save money and time by having the prosecutors attend the parole hearings by live interactive video. Family members and Ferguson would be able to participate in hearings as far away as Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California from the District Attorney's Office in San Bernardino. Last year, the District Attorney's Office was notified of 225 prisoners convicted in San Bernardino County who were up for parole. Ramos said the Prison Lifer Hearing Unit is needed even though Gov. Gray Davis has a tough parole track record, often opposing release recommendations by the Board of Prison Terms. Davis has only approved parole in two murder cases since he took office. In both cases, the parolees Rose Ann Parker of Rialto and Cheryl Sellers of Los Angeles County are battered women who killed their abusers. |
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