A new policy instituted by the recently installed Alameda County district attorney bans her prosecutors from making recommendations on prisoners’ release to the state parole board.
The move by Ursula Dickson scraps the approach taken by her predecessor, Pamela Price. The erstwhile prosecutor made it her business to weigh in on parole cases, and her staff vigorously argued for the release of some of the county’s most depraved killers during her two year term in office.
The new approach came to light last month during a parole hearing for one man, Antonio Pennyman, who through blind luck failed to finish off any of his victims.
Pennyman was convicted of multiple counts of attempted first degree murder following a June 1993 incident in which he shot and seriously wounded a police officer after earlier trying to kill two gang members whom he felt had insulted him in a rap track. He later assaulted two other officers and a police dog.
He was sentenced to three life terms plus 11 years.
“I just want to state and be clear that, currently, the district attorney’s office does not take positions on the suitability of individuals,” said assistant district attorney Sabina Crocette at Pennyman’s hearing on February 25 2025. The inmate went on to be denied parole for a period of three years.
Perhaps mindful of the experience of Brooke Jenkins, who became San Francisco’s top prosecutor in similar circumstances, only later to discover that her office continued trying to free murderers in her name, Dickson’s policy appears designed to limit the damage that can be done by her own team as she gets to grips with managing her office.
That office features a cadre of ex-public defenders, brought on board by Price, who are committed to progressive ideals and to securing the release of those convicted of serious crime as soon as possible.
Last year assistant district attorney Kwixhuan Maloof told parole commissioners that he supported the release of Darrell Shepherd – who shot a defenseless 27-year-old father, James Mladinich, in the head during a robbery in Berkeley in 1995.
“I’ve reviewed his programming, which is quite extensive,” said Maloof. “It was extensive enough that the Alameda County district attorney’s office reduced first degree [murder] to second degree [murder] last June.”
“I support his release on parole.”
Under Price, Alameda prosecutors also arranged for killers to be ‘resentenced’ by any superior court judge willing to entertain the notion. This included Neil Jones and Sterling Jones – given life without parole for the 1980 home invasion rape, kidnapping and shot-to-the-head execution of a 22-year-old Oakland woman.
The pair immediately became eligible for parole as a result.
A spokesman for Dickson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new approach, nor on whether it is intended as a stopgap measure—presaging the establishment of a more conventional prosecutorial stance at hearings: one that emphasizes reminding commissioners of the victim, while scrutinizing the prisoner’s record, professed rehabilitation and risk to public safety.
Please support our work by using this Paypal link
To be notified of new stories enter your email address here or follow us on X
