The State : Corona Denied Parole

Juan Corona, who has served 14 years in prison for the 1971 killings of 25 migrant farm workers near Yuba City, was denied parole for the second time. State Board of Pardons spokesman Edmund Tong said Corona was an “unreasonable risk to the public.” The three-member board, meeting at Soledad Prison, cited Corona’s “horrendous homicides, the evidence of extensive premeditation and inexplicable motive” as reasons for keeping him behind bars. Calling the murders “bizarre and shocking,” Tong also said Corona’s unstable mental history was a reason for denying parole. Corona, 53, appeared bemused and distracted during the three-hour hearing, but in contrast to his 1984 parole hearing, he spoke at length when asked about his history of mental illness, life in prison and plans for life on the outside. But he still refused to discuss the murders and sat mute when asked about them.