In Re Shippman

This matter involves a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Inmate Robert Shippman, [1] serving an indeterminate life sentence for the second degree murder of his wife, challenges as contrary to the evidence a decision by the Board of Parole Hearings that he remains an unreasonable risk to public safety and, thus, unsuitable for parole. For reasons we will explain, we deny the petition.

On April 23, 1993, Shippman (petitioner) fatally shot his third wife, Juli, and then immediately turned the gun on himself, inflicting serious but nonfatal wounds. At this time, petitioner, age 55, and Juli, age 28, were separated. Juli wanted out of the marriage and was having an extramarital affair with a local police officer, her second such affair during the couple's two year marriage. Petitioner was taking Valium to alleviate the stress and anguish he suffered from the breakdown of his marriage.

About a month before the murder, petitioner had arranged to take Juli to breakfast in Calistoga so they could discuss their marital problems. However, petitioner refused to stop in Calistoga as planned, and instead drove Juli on to Ukiah, where he forced her to talk to him for about…

This matter involves a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Inmate Robert Shippman, 1 serving an indeterminate life sentence for the second degree murder of his wife, challenges as contrary to the evidence a decision by the Board of Parole Hearings that he remains an unreasonable risk to public safety and, thus, unsuitable for parole. For reasons we will explain, we deny the petition.

*451 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. The Commitment Offense.

On April 23, 1993, Shippman (petitioner) fatally shot his third wife, Juli, and then immediately turned the gun on himself, inflicting serious but nonfatal wounds. At this time, petitioner, age 55, and Juli, age 28, were separated. Juli wanted out of the marriage and was having an extramarital affair with a local police officer, her second such affair during the couple’s two-year marriage. Petitioner was taking Valium to alleviate the stress and anguish he suffered from the breakdown of his marriage.

About a month before the murder, petitioner had arranged to take Juli to breakfast in Calistoga so they could discuss their marital problems. However, petitioner refused to stop in Calistoga as planned, and instead drove Juli…

I join fully in the opinion written by my colleague Justice Jenkins, but write separately to comment upon additional facts that support the reason cited by the Board of Parole Hearings (the Board) for finding Robert Shippman unsuitable for parole. As Justice Jenkins states, our task is to review the record of a petitioner’s parole suitability *465 hearing to ascertain if a decision to deny parole is supported by some evidence that the petitioner will pose an unreasonable threat to public safety if he or she is released. (In re Lawrence (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1181, 1221 [ 82 Cal.Rptr.3d 169 , 190 P.3d 535 ]; In re Shaputis (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1241, 1255 [ 82 Cal.Rptr.3d 213 , 190 P.3d 573 ].) We are to view the reasons relied upon by the Board to deny parole and determine if a nexus exists between those reasons and danger to the public. (In re Lawrence, supra, at pp. 1210-1211 .) In this case, I fully agree with Justice Jenkins that the Board was correct to conclude that Shippman’s lack of insight into the circumstances of his commitment offense and his troubled relationships with women demonstrate that he is not ready for release. But that is not all that troubles me about this…

I respectfully disagree with the opinions of my colleagues. The lead opinion upholds the decision of the Board of Parole Hearings (the Board) to deny petitioner Robert Shippman parole based not on the conclusion that there is some evidence to support the Board’s findings, but on findings of its own that are not reasonably drawn from the record before us. In what follows I shall first set forth more fully certain background matters that appear in the present record, minimizing the repetition of facts that are adequately described in the lead opinion, then address the reasons for which the Board’s analysis fails to withstand scrutiny, and finally address the purported evidence upon which the lead opinion relies to find “some evidence” that Shippman would pose an unreasonable risk to society if granted parole.

I.

Shippman was bom in 1938, the youngest of 11 children, and was raised in an intact family. His father was a chicken rancher who became pastor of a local church. Shippman’s early life was stable. He graduated from high school and attended one year of college. 1 When he married his first wife in 1957, he dropped out of school to find work. The couple divorced in 1964, when…