In Re Rozzo

Joseph Rozzo murdered Richard Heggie in 1980. A jury found Rozzo guilty of second degree murder, and he is currently serving a sentence of 16 years to life. Rozzo filed this petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the Governor's reversal of a decision of the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) granting Rozzo parole.

In his statement of reasons explaining the basis for his reversal of the Board's decision, the Governor concluded that the nature of the murder, Rozzo's criminal history and his misconduct inside of prison, and Rozzo's lack of insight regarding why he committed the murder, outweighed other factors that supported a grant of parole. The Governor further determined that the gravity of the murder alone was a sufficient basis on which to deny parole.

In describing the circumstances of the murder, the Governor noted that Rozzo, along with a group of other men, abducted Heggie as Heggie was walking along the side of the road. After the men abducted Heggie, Rozzo, together with other members of the group, beat Heggie over a prolonged period of a time. The men uttered racial slurs while they were beating Heggie. When Heggie attempted to escape, Rozzo and one of…