‘Onion Field’ Killer’s Parole Bid Revived

Gregory Ulas Powell, convicted of the 1963 murder of a Los Angeles police officer in a Kern County onion field, Friday won a hearing before the state Supreme Court in his effort to gain parole from prison.

Four of the seven justices, the minimum required, agreed to review the decision by a state District Court of Appeal, issued in December, that in effect denied Powell’s parole indefinitely.

Justices Stanley Mosk, Otto Kaus, Allen Broussard and Cruz Reynoso voted to hear the case.

Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith were convicted of the murder of Los Angeles Police Officer Ian Campbell, who was kidnaped and then shot to death in Kern County. The murder was the focus of Joseph Wambaugh’s book, “The Onion Field,” and a movie of the same name.

Wambaugh’s book detailed the killing and Powell’s and Smith’s treks through the courts. Powell was twice condemned to die, but both death penalties were overturned and his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. Smith was paroled in 1982 but is back in prison for parole violation.

‘Sound and Solid’

Chief Assistant Atty. Gen. Steve White said he would have preferred that the court had not decided to review the case but added:

“I’m confident that the law as we have argued it is sound and solid. But it is an important issue . . . and it is not astonishing that the court would want to decide it.”

Powell’s lawyer, Dennis R. Riordan, said he was surprised by the court’s decision to grant review, noting that the court agrees to hear only about 5% of the cases to reach it.

“I frankly thought that the odds were made longer by the visibility and political sensitivity of this case,” Riordan said. “I’m delighted that that wasn’t a factor in determining the decision. In terms of policy and in terms of the legal novelty, the issue warranted a hearing. It’s the kind of question they should decide.”

Five justices--Mosk, Reynoso, Joseph Grodin, Malcolm Lucas and Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird--are to be on the ballot in November, 1986, for voter approval or rejection.

The December appellate court ruling had given the Board of Prison Terms broad authority to keep prisoners behind bars. It upheld a 1982 decision by the board refusing parole to Powell.

Public Outrage Cited

The Board of Prison Terms had reversed a decision by a previous parole board that set Powell’s release for October, 1983.

Noting that “The Onion Field” movie had recently aired on television, Powell’s lawyer had argued that the Board of Prison Terms revoked the parole date because of public outrage over Powell’s impending release.

The appellate court ruled that although the board cannot base decisions to revoke parole solely on public outcry against a convict’s release, it may reopen a parole case because of complaints.

The appellate court pointed out that the 1982 Board of Prison Terms based its decision on two points: that there was doubt that Powell would refrain from further violence and that the earlier board failed to consider that Powell tried to escape in the late 1960s.

The appeals court reversed a Superior Court decision that would have led to Powell’s release in 1983. Superior Court Judge Ellis Randall had overturned the Board of Prison Terms decision, ruling that public outcry over plans to free the convicted murderer improperly played a significant part in the board’s refusal to release Powell.