Governor’s Denial of Parole Affirmed; Writ Improper

In 1995, when Royce Casey was 17 years old, he became infatuated with “death metal” music. He also started using drugs. He discussed with his two friends, ages 15 and 17, sacrificing a virgin as part of a devil worshiping ritual. The three then planned such a murder for several months.

Elyce Pahler, 15 years old, attended the same high school as Casey and his two friends. On the evening of July 22, 1995, Royce’s two friends told Casey they had lured Pahler into joining them at a remote location in Arroyo Grande. They told her they were going to use drugs with her.

Later than evening Pahler joined the three at the remote location to smoke marijuana. After about 15 to 20 minutes, one of Casey’s friends pulled off his belt and began to strangle Pahler. The other young friend pulled out a hunting knife and stabbed her four to six times in the neck. The boy with the belt then took the knife and stabbed Pahler four or five more times in the neck. Casey then finally took the knife and stabbed Pahler four times in her back. Casey then stomped on her head while she lay on the ground, moaning.

After it was clear Pahler was dead, the boys buried her in a shallow grave and left.

After eight months with the crime still unsolved, Casey confessed his commission of the crime to a clergyman, who then reported this to the police.

Casey was then sentenced to state prison and on March 17, 2021, the parole board found Casey suitable for parole. At the time, he had served 23 years and three months of a life sentence. He had previously been denied parole twice.

Governor Newsom then reversed the granted of parole. His statement explained that he had “carefully examined the record for evidence that Mr. Casey’s insight and self-awareness had developed sufficiently to minimize the risk factors, including associating with negative peers, being swayed by violent and antisocial ideologies, and rationalizing brutal conduct for self-serving purposes. Mr. Casey’s discussion of the causative factors for his involvement are concerningly lacking. . . .”

The Governor then stated that “I have determined that Mr. Casey must do additional work to deepen his insight into the causative factors of his crime and copies skills before he can be safely released on parole.”

Mr. Casey then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging the Governor’s basis for keeping him in prison was improper and was not supported by evidence.

Mr. Casey argued that his case was similar to In re Van Houten (2023) 92 Cal. App. 5th 1, wherein the Court of Appeal (for the Second District) concluded the Governor had no evidence to support his decision to deny parole to Ms. Van Houten, a Charles Manson follower.

The Second Appellate District characterized Mr. Casey’s reliance on Van Houten “misplaced.” The appellate court then contrasted Ms. Van Houten with Mr. Casey. Van Houten attended 50 years of therapy while in prison and had been a model prisoner, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees while in custody. Most importantly, the parole board had found her suitable for parole on three prior occasions, whereas this had never happened for Mr. Casey, now age 45 and having served far less time in prison than Ms. Van Houten.

The Second Appellate District regarded Governor Newsom’s “insight and reason for denying Ms. Casey parole more than met the standard of ‘some evidence’ in In re Lawrence (2008) 44 Cal. 4th 1181. Most persuasive to the appellate court seemed to be Mr. Casey’s explanation that at the time of the murder he was hurt and angry. He thought that violence against someone who could not hurt him was an appropriate response.

The appellate court then stated, “But hurt and anger do not explain what Casey did. Nor does not being able to express himself and pleasing others even begin to account for his act. Almost everyone feels hurt and anger at some point in their lives. Yet they do not plot for months to kill an innocent person and then execute the plan in a particularly brutal manner. Hurt and anger, a fascination with death metal music, the use of marijuana, all seem typical of many teenagers. Nothing Casey said explains the brutal murder of a 15-year-old-girl. The Governor could reasonably conclude that Casey lacks insight into his crime.”

We bring this summary to the reader’s attention because it suggests what someone ought to present to a parole board.