SAN DIEGO — A woman whose husband was murdered in 1988 during a brutal attack inside their El Cajon apartment is speaking out about a proposed California law that could allow the killer to get out on parole. Senate Bill 94 would rescind life without parole sentences for some inmates convicted of murder with special circumstances.
Supporters of the bill argue some inmates are rehabilitated and simply too old to reoffend.
“This particular legislation is a total disregard to victims and a nod to criminals. Period,” said Vickie Petix.
Petix doesn't like talking about the man who attacked and killed her husband 35 years ago.
The couple had been married less than a year. Steve Petix, a local newspaper reporter, came home to find his wife being attacked by a man with a knife. He jumped in and saved Vickie but the husband was stabbed to death by David Weeding, a convicted rapist who was on parole at the time of the murder.
“It never goes away. The pain never goes away. The fact of what happened never goes away. And it's something you learn to live with,” said the widow.
Weeding was convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of murder during the course an attempted rape and burglary.
Now, those special circumstances could be thrown out if the resentencing bill becomes law in California.
“He was sentenced to life without parole. And I was good with that. Psychologically, I don't know what will happen to me if that were to change and he were to get paroled,” said Petix.
Weeding is now age 73 and serving his time as a ‘lifer’ in a medical prison in Stockton, California.
SB94 would allow murderers to petition the courts for resentencing if they were sentenced to life without parole, if the murder was committed before June 5, 1990, and if the inmate has already served 25 years in prison.
The bill's sponsor, State Senator Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, said SB94 would apply to about 550 inmates between the ages of 53 and 87.
“Research conclusively demonstrates that there is little risk for elderly individuals to reoffend or recidivate upon release,” said Cortese.
Supporters of the bill said the path to parole would a three-step process starting with a court hearing.
“If the judge resentences the person, they would then go to the Parole Board for review, a process that takes about 10 months. And if the Parole Board finds them suitable for parole, they would then go to the Governor's office before ever being granted parole,” said Natasha Minsker with Smart Justice California.
SB94 excludes inmates who were convicted of murder of a police officer, murder of three or more people, and rape or child abuse during the homicide.
The political action group Crime Victims United held a news conference Tuesday in Sacramento to urge state lawmakers to vote against the bill. It is the same reason why Vickie Petix is speaking out.
“To have this come up now, this is an incredible injustice to me, to my family, to all the people that love my husband. And it's a get out of jail free card for anybody that's been convicted of life without parole,” she said.
SB94 already has passed in the State Senate. The bill is set to go before the appropriations committee on September 1. It could then come up for a final vote at the State Assembly sometime before September 14.
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