Charles William Mix, a pedophile sentenced to 350 years in prison for kidnapping and abusing a five-year-old child, will benefit from the so-called “California Senior Parole Program,” according to information from the conservative newspaper National Review and of the New York Postciting an article from the American broadcaster KTLA.
Mix, sentenced by the US courts in 2003, became eligible for the program this year due to his age and length of incarceration.
California’s Senior Parole Program, led by Democrat Gavin Newsom, which went into effect in January 2021, allows inmates over 50 who have served at least 20 years of their sentence to be considered for early release.
According to information, Mix, currently 69 years old and serving a sentence in California, meets the criteria of the program, which has not considered in many cases the severity of the crime for which the inmate was convicted, nor the suffering caused to the victim.
The pedophile was convicted in 2003 for kidnapping a friend’s five-year-old daughter. According to reports, he took the child to the state of Utah, where he abused her and took photos of the crime. The act shocked the US and resulted in a 350-year prison sentence for Mix, which now, 20 years later, may not be served.
The possibility of Mix being granted parole through the California program has resurrected trauma and pain for the family of the victim, now 27. Claira Stansbury, her sister, told US media that she was extremely concerned about her sister’s abuser being granted parole. She also expressed her frustration with California’s current criminal justice system, which she said is putting criminals ahead of victims.
“Lawmakers just want to talk about how terrible life sentences are for this [tipo] of crime [abuso] and for these types of criminals. I don’t think they [os legisladores] are really considering the sentences imposed on the lives of victims who had no choice in this,” Stansbury said, warning of the trauma abuse victims have to live with. “I absolutely believe he [Mix] will commit crimes again, whether it’s looking for my sister or another innocent child,” she warned.
“We were past that,” Stansbury recalled in a statement to a local station. “We were recovering, and now we have to dive back into this to try to keep him in prison.”
According to the National Reviewthe law establishing the senior parole program, which was passed by the Democratic-led state legislature, was initially designed to ease pressure on California’s prison system. However, critics say the program’s implementation has been overly lax, allowing offenders to return to their communities and reoffend.
Cited by National ReviewSan Diego County, California District Attorney Summer Stephan said the probation program “is cruel to crime victims and is designed only to benefit violent criminals.”
“Our Life Unit will never abandon victims and will continue to support them in these early parole trials, vowing to fight against their releases when necessary,” said Stephan, who has spoken out against Mix’s eligibility for parole.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in California, which was responsible for the charges and Mix’s arrest, released a statement opposing the abuser’s possible parole.
“It is outrageous that the state continues to subject victims and their families to further trauma by forcing them to fight for sentences that have already been imposed by a court. This practice forces victims to relive their devastating experiences. We have a team of attorneys and victims’ advocates dedicated to fighting against the early release of dangerous criminals. Our office is committed to protecting victims and ensuring that this practice of early parole is ended.” said the office in a statement released by KTLA.
According to the New York PostMix’s custody hearing was scheduled for September 25.
#California #program #free #convicted #pedophile