In Re Lawrence

This habeas corpus proceeding arises after Governor Schwarzenegger's (Governor) second reversal of a Board of Parole Hearings's (Board) grant of release on parole, decided in 2005. These two reversals were the third and fourth time a Governor has reversed such a grant of parole to this petitioner in the past dozen years. On August 24, 2006, we issued an order to show cause in order to review the Governor's action. Finding the Governor lacked "some evidence" the petitioner's release on parole would represent an "unreasonable risk" of danger to the community under either state or federal constitutional standards, we grant a writ vacating the Governor's reversal and reinstating the Board's 2005 grant of a parole release to petitioner.

Sandra Davis Lawrence (Lawrence), an African-American woman, was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, the youngest of 12 children. At the time of her birth, her father was 68 and her mother 40. [1] As the youngest child, Lawrence spent much of her teenage years as a nanny for her older siblings' babies and young children while the parents worked or attended college, as well as a caretaker for a mentally retarded sister. After graduation…