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Name: In re Tripp
Case #: H029507
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 6 DCA
Opinion Date: 04/26/2007
Summary

It was not a denial of due process to deny petitioner a parole date based solely on the commitment offense. Tripp was convicted in 1981 of second degree murder for aiding and abetting the murder of a ten-year-old child in order to keep her from testifying against Tripp’s stepfather, who molested the child. In 2004, the Board of Prison Terms (BPT) found Tripp suitable for parole and set a date. The Governor reviewed the grant of a parole date and reversed it, asserting his belief that Tripp posed a threat to public safety, and concluding that the gravity of the murder outweighed the positive factors tending to support a parole release. Tripp challenged the Governor’s decision by way of a habeas petition, which was denied. There was some evidence supporting the Governor’s decision. It was not a denial of due process to continue to deny parole based solely on the commitment offense.