Charles Denton Watson v. Wayne Estelle

Respondent-appellant Wayne Estelle, Warden (“Estelle”), appeals the judgment granting a writ of habeas corpus to petitioner-appellee Charles Denton Watson (“Watson”). The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 & 2253, and we affirm.

I

In 1971, Watson was convicted of seven counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder for his participation in the Tate-LaBianca murders as part of the Manson family. His death sentence was modified to life imprisonment when the California Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty.

In 1977, California’s Determinate Sentencing Law (“DSL”) became effective. As enacted, the DSL contained a provision obligating the Board of Prison Terms (“Board”) to conduct annual parole hearings for all indeterminately sentenced prisoners, such as Watson. This provision was retroactive, putting Watson in the same position he would have occupied “if annual review were in effect at the time [he] committed his offense.” In re Jackson, 39 Cal.3d 464, 470 , 216 Cal.Rptr. 760, 763 , 703 P.2d 100, 103 (1985). In 1982, California amended the DSL to create “an exception to the annual…