A California child killer who reportedly beat his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son so badly that he suffered dozens of traumatic injuries, broken bones and “punched” organs, is one step closer to walking free after state officials approved his parole although the prosecution promised to keep him in prison for the rest of his life.
The only chance to live up to that pledge now rests in the hands of Gavin Newsom.
Patrick Goodman, now 49, killed Elijah Sanderson in early December 2000. The medical examiner reportedly found that some of the injuries were caused by repeatedly swinging the boy’s wrists against a wall.
A parole hearing took place in December, where District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office argued against Goodman’s release. Critics became more vocal after the San Francisco Public Safety News site published the transcript Wednesday.
“I hope that one day I will be able to show Elia’s family, the community and everyone caught up in the ripple effects of my actions, that I am no longer the monster I once was,” he told the parole board commissioner. at the Dec. 14 hearing.
Commissioners Michele Minor and Dane Blake decided to give him that chance.
“We find that Mr. Goodman does not currently pose an unreasonable risk to public safety and is therefore appropriate for parole,” Minor said after 15 minutes of deliberations after the hearing, SF Public Safety reported.
State prison records show that, in May 2022, the parole board denied Goodman a minimum of three years. But last month, the board reversed course and granted him parole.
Patrick Goodman is applying for parole after killing his girlfriend’s son. California Department of Corrections
“This is the most brutal crime there is,” Britt Elmore, a former San Francisco Police officer, told Fox News Digital. “It’s on the kids.”
He said he expected Newsom to overrule the parole board given the facts of the case but urged Democrats to go a step further and launch a review of whether officials on the parole board are qualified to do their jobs.
“See if they deserve to be in this trial,” he said. “This is the worst of the worst, and this should be for the purposes of our strictest laws.”
He noted that the 3-year-old victim was helpless and “the most innocent victim” Goodman could have chosen.
“A lot of people put themselves in trouble. … A child does not make that decision,” he said. “The child was just placed there.”
Gavin Newsom is the last person who could shoot down Goodman’s parole. AP
Jonathan Hatami, a candidate for district attorney in Los Angeles County who has put thousands of child abusers behind bars, called the verdict “appalling” and argued that people who prey on defenseless children are the worst criminals.
“I’ve tried a lot of high-profile child murders,” he told Fox News Digital. “If you are going to kill a child, someone who is the most vulnerable in our society, you are a danger to our entire community.”
He rose to fame with the Gabriel Fernandez case in 2013, which later became the subject of a Netflix documentary. The 8-year-old was tortured and killed by her mother, Pearl Fernandez, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre.
Last year, Hatami helped sentence the mother of Anthony Avalos, a 10-year-old boy who was killed after weeks of torture, and her boyfriend to life in prison without parole. He would have sought the death penalty if he had not been overruled by his boss, incumbent District Attorney George Gascón.
Jonathan Hatami, a candidate for district attorney in Los Angeles County who has put thousands of child abusers behind bars, called the decision “appalling.” Crown 4
Heather Maxine Barron, 33, and her boyfriend Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 37, were convicted of murder and torture in March after trial prosecutors said there was “nothing horrible.”
“Someone who would kill a child has the ability to kill anyone,” he added. “Child killers pose a serious danger to our community. Period.”
Hatami, a Democrat, is running to replace Gascón as Los Angeles DA.
But Goodman received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Whether he comes out now is in the hands of the governor’s office.
A spokesman for Newsom said the case “will be thoroughly reviewed.”
The governor’s office also urges crime victims and survivors to sign up for the state’s victim services program.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
