parole board – A Democratic-led California Senate voted June 1 to reconfirm five commissioners to the California Board of Parole Hearings, but Republicans erupted on the chamber floor—arguing the board has made “egregious” parole decisions involving serial sex offenders.
SACRAMENTO — The vote happened in broad daylight on June 1. But the argument that followed sounded like a personal alarm for Republicans, who said the California Board of Parole Hearings is letting predators back into communities without adequate protection for children.
On the Senate floor, Sen. Steven Choi (R-Irvine) called for the current board to be replaced. saying it is “clearly not doing a good job protecting children.” Choi spoke while the Democratic-led Senate advanced the reconfirmation of five commissioners to the board. with the roll call falling along party lines.
The parole board consists of 21 commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate for three-year terms. Five current commissioners — William Muniz. Michael Ruff. Rosalind Sargent-Burns. Mary Thornton and Jack Weiss — were reconfirmed June 1 in votes that did not stray from party lines. Republicans objected not only to the reappointments themselves. but to the board’s recent parole decisions. which they described as particularly harmful.
At issue were alleged parole grants for serial sex offenders David Allen Funston, Gregory Lee Vogelsang and Roberto Antonio Detrinidad. The vote of individual commissioners was not made public.
Democrats defended the board’s work, arguing it is required to follow a landmark 2008 ruling from the California Supreme Court. That decision, Democrats said, established that denying parole must be supported by evidence that the person poses a current risk.
Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton) said parole decisions should turn on current safety risks rather than the seriousness of the original offense. “Evidence based risk assessment exists for this exact purpose,” she said.
The dispute is tightly connected to how California’s elderly parole program works. Under that program. inmates 50 and older can qualify for a parole suitability hearing if they have been incarcerated for at least 20 continuous years. If commissioners determine the inmate does not pose a public safety risk, the person can be released.
Senate Republicans challenged the board’s judgment through individual cases they say show a mismatch between what offenders allegedly indicated in hearings and what commissioners later decided.
Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) pointed to a transcript of Funston’s initial parole hearing. Grove said Funston acknowledged still being attracted to children and said he would splash cold water on his face to deter his urges.
Prosecutors say Funston used candy and toys to lure children playing outside in the Sacramento suburbs into his vehicle in 1995 and 1996. He was convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation.
Grove told colleagues that no one in the chamber would want Funston “to be alone with their children or grandchildren or any of our constituents,” adding, “But this board voted to let him out of prison.”
Other Republicans zeroed in on how the board’s internal decision-making would be evaluated publicly.
Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) criticized the board for not releasing the specific voting records of individual commissioners. She said she asked the five reconfirmed commissioners to reveal their records, which California allows but does not require.
“They all refused,” Bogh said. “If you are not willing to publicly own how you voted to release a serial child molester or repeat rapist, you will not receive my vote.”
After the votes, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-Santee) accused Democrats in a statement of “rubber-stamping” the reappointments and said the board had lost all credibility with the public.
The board’s response emphasized compliance with existing law and procedures designed to assess risk. In an email, spokesperson Emily Humpal wrote that commissioners follow California law and prioritize public safety. She said the “Board’s standard is stringent. involves numerous steps and use of validated risk assessment tools. including evaluation by forensic psychologists.” Humpal also wrote that “Over 97% of parolees successfully transition into their communities without a new conviction within three years.”.
Some prosecutors and victims have already expressed anger over parole decisions involving these cases. One victim, who was kidnapped by Funston at age 4 and sexually assaulted with a knife to her throat, previously told The Times that he should remain in prison.
Jones and Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) this year introduced Senate Bill 1278. That bill would have blocked those convicted of “rape. sodomy. lewd and lascivious acts. and habitual sex offenders” from the elderly parole program. Some offenders already are barred, including those convicted of first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. SB 1278 died in the Senate Public Safety Committee in April.
Other changes are moving through the Legislature. Legislation from Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove) would raise the minimum parole age for sex offenders convicted of rape. sodomy. or the aggravated sexual assault of a child to 65. Assembly Bill 2727 is advancing through the Legislature with bipartisan support.
If signed into law, AB 2727 would amend legislation from former Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). That law, signed in 2020, lowered the minimum age requirement for elderly parole consideration from 60 to 50 years old.
In Sacramento. the fight over these reappointments is now inseparable from the larger question Republicans are pressing on the Senate floor: whether the state’s rules for releasing older inmates—structured around risk assessments and current safety concerns—are keeping pace with what many lawmakers and victims say they’ve seen in the board’s decisions.
California Senate parole board Board of Parole Hearings elderly parole program Steven Choi Eloise Gomez Reyes Shannon Grove Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh Brian W. Jones Roger Niello Emily Humpal David Allen Funston Gregory Lee Vogelsang Roberto Antonio Detrinidad Senate Bill 1278 Assembly Bill 2727