FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 30-2018-00985610-CU-WM- CJC
Date: August 2, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY
WHO: The Honorable Martha K. Gooding of the Orange County Superior Court
WHAT: Granted a preliminary injunction today against the Board of Parole Hearings (the Board) on behalf of the People of the State of California and crime victim Collene Campbell.
On April 11, 2018, the OCDA filed a motion for injunctive relief against the Board for violating Marsy’s Law by allowing administrative staff to advance the parole hearing date, without new evidence, for 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. 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 in violation of Marsy’s Law.
Today, the Honorable Martha K. Gooding ruled in favor of the OCDA and crime victim Collene Campbell and granted the preliminary injunction, prohibiting the Board from unlawfully advancing Cowell’s parole suitability hearing date via “administrative review.” The full order can be read here.
“Today’s injunction gives hope to victims and reminds them the Board of Parole Hearings is not the final authority when it comes to parole proceedings,” said Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. “There is a process in place in which victim’s rights are constitutionally preserved and protected, even in death through the support of their loved ones and today, the Parole Board was reminded of that process,” said Rackauckas.
To read the previous news release about this case, please click here. To watch the news conference on this case with District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, crime victim Collene Campbell, and Dr. Henry T. Nicholas of Marsy’s Law, please visit: https://youtu.be/zxZyeLlY75Y
WHEN: Today, Aug. 2, 2018