In re Taplett
Opinion
lead Opinion
Hull, J.
On the evening of January 25, 1991, 20-year-old Alicia Taplett participated in a driveby shooting that claimed the life of 24-year-old Dorothy Expose. Taplett pleaded no contest to second degree murder with a weapon-use enhancement and, on May 1, 1992, was sentenced to state prison for an indeterminate term of 16 years to life. On November 12, 2008, the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) found Taplett suitable for parole. However, the Governor reversed the Board’s decision, concluding Taplett’s release would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society.
Taplett filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the superior court, which was denied on July 27, 2009. She then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in this court. We issued an order to show cause to Mary Lattimore, Warden of the Central California Women’s Facility, in order to review the Governor’s decision. The warden filed a return to our order to show cause.
*443 We conclude the evidence presented at the Board’s parole suitability hearing supports the Governor’s decision to reverse the Board’s grant of parole and therefore deny the petition for writ of habeas corpus.