In Re Arafiles

Article V, section 8, of the California Constitution was amended in 1988 to add subdivision (b) to allow the Governor a 30-day period to review and to “affirm, modify or reverse” any decision of the Board of Prison Terms “with respect to the granting, denial, revocation, or suspension of parole of a person sentenced to an indeterminate term upon conviction of murder . . . Petitioner, Johnny Arafiles, is serving an indeterminate term of life imprisonment for a conviction of first degree murder committed on October 13, 1977. The Board of Prison Terms (BPT) granted petitioner parole, but the Governor, acting pursuant to article V, section 8, subdivision (b) (section 8(b)), reviewed and reversed that decision. The principal issue presented in this habeas corpus proceeding is whether the application of section 8(b) to a prisoner who committed his crime before its enactment violates the ex post facto clauses of the state or federal Constitutions. After first considering petitioner’s other contentions, we shall conclude it does not. Petitioner’s other contentions are that (1) the Governor’s review of the parole release decision was not timely; (2) the Governor improperly…