Mercy of a Sort

It is heartening that Gov. Gray Davis has finally found one person among California’s 150,000 inmates worthy of parole. But even in this instance the governor, by refusing to release Rose Ann Parker until December, appears to be more concerned about his political image than mercy.

Davis’ office announced Sunday that he had authorized parole for Parker, a convicted murderer, concluding that she had been battered by an ex-boyfriend and feared for her life and that of her 2-year-old child when she shot him in the back in 1986.

The state Board of Prison Terms, which considers parole requests from prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for kidnapping, murder and similar violent crimes, had recommended that Parker be released. The board rarely grants parole, but in the 29 cases in which it has done so since Davis took office, the governor has reflexively overturned each one.

Davis repeatedly reiterated his categorical opposition to parole, statements from which he has now distanced himself. In the process, the governor has raised concerns about his ability to judge each case fairly on its merits.

Earlier Davis tried to block the release of another battered woman, Jane Woods, but was unsuccessful because she had won her parole date before the governor took office.

The trials of Woods and Parker took place before women were permitted to raise a defense that they had been battered. The battered woman syndrome defense became law in California in 1992, raising serious questions about whether either of the women would have been convicted had their trials occurred at a later date.

Had Davis simply approved parole for Parker--which he should have done--she would have been freed last Sunday from the women’s prison at Corona. Instead, Davis extended her sentence until Dec. 8 to ensure that she will complete her minimum prison sentence of 15 years. The decision to hold her until December unfortunately comes off as a self-serving gesture with no purpose other than to shield a skittish governor from any possible accusations that he is soft on crime.