STOCKTON, Calif. — The California Board of Parole has denied 2001 Santana High School shooter Andy Williams parole, 23 years after he killed two students and shot 13 others.
Board of Parole Hearings Commissioner Kevin Chappell and Deputy Commissioner Letizia Pingitore issued their decision during Tuesday’s hearing from the California Health Care Facility in Stockton.
“We do find you pose a risk to public safety and we do not find you suitable for parole,” Chappell said.
What comes next?
Williams' hearing marks his first attempt at making his case for parole. Although the board commissioners rejected Williams' request for parole, he'll have another chance to make his case in three years. He has the option to petition for an earlier hearing.
The hearing
During Tuesday’s hearing, the parole board heard from San Diego County Deputy District Attorney John Cross and Andy William’s attorney, Laura Sheppard. Each was given 10 minutes to make their arguments to the board.
Cross asked the panel to find Williams not suitable for parole and to consider setting his next hearing in five years.
Sheppard spoke about William’s trouble childhood and said, “None of this excuses his actions, but it does explain them.”
Sheppard said Williams is now “a fully rehabilitated 38-year-old man,” not the scared, 15-year-old child he once was.
When Williams was given his chance to speak in front of the hearing officers, he cried as he read from a prepared statement. He apologized to all the victims by name that he shot that day in 2001.
Williams said his actions were “wrong, cruel, callous, violence and wrong. The ripple effect is tremendous.” He said, “There were so many people affected by this crime and continue to be affected today. I had no right to break into their lives and alter them forever... I turned their joy into fear, anger, confusion, sadness and trauma.”
Twenty-two victims of the shooting and family members of victims spoke during the emotional hearing. At least one spoke in favor of Williams being granted parole.
During the hearing, Mari Gordon-Rayborn shared the impact of Williams killing her son, Randy.
Gordon-Rayborn's statement read in part,
"For many years, I have been alone and homeless. I am currently living in my car. Everyone I ever loved or trusted has thrown me away. They all said they would be there to support me, but in truth I was abandoned. I have been subjected to rapes, kidnappings, attempts on my life, assaults, hopelessness, loneliness, hunger...
...and all of the other horrors that comes with living on the streets. I suffer from numerous chronic physical and medical conditions, including severe PTSD. I attribute all of the above to the murder of my son.
I do not believe he fully comprehends the devastation his actions caused upon the families of the victims, the students of Santana High School, and the community of Santee."
*Only one member of the San Diego media was allowed to watch the video feed of the parole proceedings for Andy Williams on September 10, 2024. The details and quotes included in this story from the parole hearing were provided by the media pool reporter to CBS 8.
Why does parole come so early?
CBS 8 spoke to legal experts who explained the changes in California law that afford Williams a chance at parole.
Facing a potential 400-year prison sentence on June 20, 2002, then-16-year-old Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.
Under the plea deal, Williams was sentenced as an adult to serve 50 years to life in state prison.
Since Williams' sentencing, state laws have changed. In 2002, state prosecutors had the discretion to try those as young as 14 years old as adults.
In 2013, former Governor Jerry Brown signed the Youth Offender Parole Hearing Bill into law. That law requires that any person who committed a crime when they were 25 years old or younger be provided with a parole hearing no later than their twenty-fifth year incarcerated.
Frankie Guzman is the Senior Director of Youth Justice at the National Center for Youth Law. Guzman helped write the Youth Offender Parole Hearing Bill.
In a September 2023 interview, Guzman told CBS 8 the Youth Offender Parole process has been widely successful.
“This population has experienced a less than 1% recidivism rate, which is exceptional, I would say almost unbelievable,” Guzman said. “They do not commit new crimes, do not create new victims, and do not go back to prison. They overwhelmingly succeed on parole.”
Community response
For the past year, CBS 8 has tracked Williams's run-up to parole eligibility. Many of the victims and their families we spoke to said the trauma from 2001 still weighs heavy.
We spoke to a mother whose son, Bryan, was taken from her, survivors haunted by scenes of terrified and bloodied classmates screaming for help, and former students who to this day freeze at the slightest sudden sound such as a balloon popping, the yelp from a siren, or burst from a firecracker.
During CBS 8's investigation, we also spoke to several former students and the mother of Randy Gordon, one of two students killed in the shooting.
"I guess my world went black for a bit. I think I went somewhere. There's my life before the shooting, and then after the shooting," Randy's mom, Mari Gordon-Rayborn told CBS 8.
Williams shot her son to death as he walked with his friend to class on March 5, 2001. The day still haunts her.
"It destroyed my family. I got PTSD and I got too sick to work. Then we lost our home. I lost my other two kids, and everybody in my family left me," she said.
"I want to understand why," said Gordon-Rayborn. "I understand that the laws have changed, but that doesn't change what he did. It doesn't change the lives he affected. Not just my life was affected but every student there, everybody in that community, everything changed that day."
As she hopes to be able to find housing and take care of her medical issues, Gordon-Rayborn said more than anything, she looks forward to one day maybe being reunited with her son.
"I have a date in heaven, now I just need to get there," she said.