(Woodland, CA) – May 12, 2016 – Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced today that a Board of Parole Hearings Commission denied convicted murderer Kenneth Ray Buffer’s request for release from state prison at a parole hearing at Folsom State Prison in Sacramento on May 11, 2016.
In March of 1995, Buffer and Michael Andre Todd attacked the victim, James Williams, at a home in West Sacramento. Buffer, now 54 years of age, lived in Sacramento at the time. During the trial, witnesses testified that Williams owed Buffer and Todd thousands of dollars as a result of drug deal. Buffer severely beat Williams and Todd burned him with a knife that had been heated on a stove. They also poured a caustic liquid on Williams’ body which caused severe burns. Buffer later drove Williams, who was nearly dead, to a parking lot where he was abandoned in the back seat of his own car. Williams died days later after being taken to the hospital. After the jury convicted both Buffer and Todd, the trial judge sentenced Buffer to 25-years-to-life in prison for the murder.
Yolo County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Garrett Hamilton appeared at Buffer’s Parole Hearing, arguing against his release. This was Buffer’s first parole hearing. In denying his release for three years, the commissioners found that Buffer was still a potential threat to public safety and was minimizing his own role in the murder. They also found that he was not expressing full remorse and empathy for the victim. He will be eligible for parole again in three years.
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