Man who poisoned his wife will not get early parole
Press Release | CDCR Reversed Decision
(Woodland, CA) – July 18, 2016 – On July 13, 2016, the Board of Parole Hearings reversed an earlier decision to release convicted felon Britt Davis from prison early under the Non-Violent Second Striker release program. Davis, 53 years of age and from Knight’s Landing, pled guilty to “Willful Poison to Cause Injury” after he put acetone in his wife’s Dr. Pepper soda and admitted he had a previous felony “strike” conviction for making criminal threats. Davis had a lengthy criminal record and had been to prison before. A Yolo County Superior Court judge sentenced Davis to 10 years in state prison on February 10, 2012.
On February 8, 2016, the District Attorney’s Office received notification from the California Board of Parole Hearings that Davis would be considered for early release under the Non-Violent Second Striker release program. The District Attorney’s Office submitted a written opposition to his release detailing the reasons why Davis still posed an unreasonable risk of violence to the community. The Board of Parole Hearings approved early release of Davis from prison and failed to acknowledge receipt of the District Attorney’s opposition letter. As a result, the District Attorney’s office requested a review arguing that had the letter been considered, the Board would have denied Davis’ request for early release. Additionally, the District Attorney’s Office located the victim who also wrote an opposition letter. After review, the Board acknowledged an administrative error resulting in the failure to consider the letter and reversed its decision, thereby denying Davis early release at this time.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig stated: “The community is not safe when violent offenders are released early, but the fact that Davis was almost released early due to a bureaucratic error highlights why the state’s Non-Violent Second Striker early release program, and other programs like it, are so concerning. When our government delegates early prison release decisions to workers who consider and make such significant determinations in a sterile paper-pushing environment, without first-hand knowledge of the case, including the real-life testimony of victims and witnesses and the rationale for the sentence handed down by the judge in court, the integrity of the justice system is compromised for everyone involved and the promises made to victims of crime become truly hollow.”
For more information regarding California’s Non-Violent Second Striker Release Program, including the District Attorney’s opposition letters and the Board of Parole Hearing’s release decisions, visit the Yolo County District Attorney’s website at www.yoloda.website-development.info/public_html/media/early-prison-releases/.
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