Panel Backs Gov.’s Parole Board Picks

A key Senate committee on Wednesday endorsed a controversial parole board member appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite protests from those who say she brings a bias to the job of deciding which inmates are ready for release.

Susan Fisher’s approval by the Rules Committee means her confirmation to the board by the full Senate is all but certain.

While giving her and a second appointee their blessing, however, senators warned the governor that future candidates will face longer odds unless they come from different backgrounds.

Fisher was a leading crime victims’ advocate before her appointment, and the other appointee, Board Chairwoman Margarita Perez, has a background in corrections. The remaining four members previously worked in law enforcement.

“The governor has three more appointments, and the fact that there is a dire lack of real diversity on this panel is something that I

Commissioners on the nine-member board evaluate the roughly 25,000 killers and other inmates convicted of serious crimes whose life sentences make them eligible for release. Members are paid $99,693 a year; the chairwoman earns $103,317.

Fisher, 51, was appointed in February, immediately sparking concern among inmate advocates, who asked whether her past as a leading champion of crime victims might make it difficult for her to be impartial.

That criticism flared anew earlier this month, when an inmate seeking parole asked to have her case heard in Superior Court. The inmate, Linda Ricchio, was convicted of murdering Fisher’s brother in 1987. Although Fisher was not scheduled to decide the case personally, Ricchio said that other board members would be influenced by Fisher’s connection to the crime.

On Wednesday, nine witnesses opposed her confirmation and four spoke in support.

Fisher told the committee that her views on life-term prisoners had changed dramatically since she took the job. When she began, she said, “I believed only a few inmates were suitable for release and that the vast majority deserved to spend the rest of their lives in prison.

“But I quickly realized that things are not black and white,” she said. “When you’re able to grant a [parole] date to an inmate who has done a great job rehabilitating himself, it’s a great feeling.”

In her initial 10 months on the job, Fisher granted parole dates to about 7% of inmates who have come before her, slightly below the board average.

Fisher was confirmed on a 5-0 vote. Perez, who was questioned sharply about a backlog of cases that creates long delays for inmates, was confirmed on a 4-0 vote with one abstention.