Case # 30-2018-00985610-CU-WM-CJC
Date: April 17, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY
*Please note: No additional information or interviews will be available prior to the news conference
WHO: Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauckas
WHAT: Will hold a news conference announcing a civil lawsuit filed last week in Orange County Superior Court against the Board of Parole Hearings (the Board) on behalf of the People of the State of California and crime victim Collene Campbell. The complaint is seeking injunctive relief against the Board for violating Marsy’s Law by allowing administrative staff to advance the parole hearing date of inmate Lawrence Rayborn Cowell, who was convicted in 1983 of murdering 27-year-old Scott Campbell by throwing him out of an airplane into the ocean so he could steal the victim’s sports car, without new evidence.
Cowell is currently serving a life term in state prison and was found to be unsuitable for parole at his most recent hearing on Oct. 25, 2016. The OCDA’s complaint alleges the Board unlawfully advanced the date of Cowell’s parole hearing by one year to May 23, 2018, and failed to adequately notify the victim’s mother, Collene Campbell, of the new hearing date in violation of Marsy’s Law.
WHEN: Today, April 17, 2018, at 12:00 p.m.
WHERE: First floor law library, OCDA’s Office, 401 Civic Center Drive W., Santa Ana, CA 92701
Watch remotely through Facebook Live at https://facebook.com/OCDATony