INDETERMINATE SENTENCE PAROLE RELEASE REVIEW

(Penal Code Section 3041.2)

JAMES WARD, C-70093
First degree murder
AFFIRM:

________________

MODIFY:

________________

REVERSE:

_______ X _______

STATEMENT OF FACTS
James Ward and Shirlon Davis dated for a few months before breaking up. After the break-up,
Mr. Ward stalked Ms. Davis for several months, sometimes following her and watching her for
hours. He had fantasies about killing her. On October 20, 1982, Mr. Ward purchased a knife
from a grocery store, intending to use it to kill Ms. Davis. He went to Ms. Daviss home,
concealing the knife in his shirt sleeve, approached Ms. Davis, and talked to her. Mr. Ward then
had second thoughts about killing Ms. Davis and threw out the knife in a garbage can outside of
Ms. Daviss house. Mr. Ward went inside Ms. Daviss home and chatted with Ms. Davis about
her weekend plans. Mr. Ward became jealous and strangled Ms. Davis, retrieved a knife from
the kitchen, and stabbed her multiple times in the neck and chest, killing her.
GOVERNING LAW
The question I must answer is whether Mr. Ward will pose a current danger to the public if
released from prison. The circumstances of the crime can provide evidence of current
dangerousness when the record also establishes that something in the inmates pre- or postincarceration history, or the inmates current demeanor and mental state, indicate that the
circumstances of the crime remain probative of current dangerousness. (In re Lawrence (2008)
44 Cal. 4th 1181, 1214.)
DECISION
The Board of Parole Hearings found Mr. Ward suitable for parole based on his age, participation
in self-help programs, remorse, acceptance of responsibility, lack of serious disciplinary reports
since 1989, educational and vocational accomplishments, and psychological evaluations.
I acknowledge Mr. Ward has made efforts to improve himself while incarcerated. He earned an
associates degree with high honors and a bachelors degree with great distinction. He is now a
certified alcohol and drug counselor. He has routinely received above average and exceptional
work ratings. He has been commended for being highly motivated, intelligent, empathetic, and
hard working. Mr. Ward has taken self-help classes on topics including substance abuse, anger
management, and the impact of crime on victims. I commend Mr. Ward for taking these positive

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First Degree Murder
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steps. But they are outweighed by negative factors that demonstrate he remains unsuitable for
parole.
Mr. Wards crime was atrocious. He stalked Ms. Davis for months after they broke up and then
brutally killed her in her own home. This was not the first time Mr. Ward acted out violently
after a relationship had ended. Mr. Ward reported that his first sexual relationship ended when
he was 8 or 10 years old, after he became jealous and jumped on his partners back, scratching
and biting her. At 18, he slapped another girlfriend for breaking up with him. In August of
1976, Mr. Ward stalked and severely assaulted another girlfriend after breaking up with her. Mr.
Ward beat this woman, threatened further beatings, and threatened to kill her. A few days after
being released for this assault, Mr. Ward found his ex-girlfriend at work, said he wanted to talk
to her about the previous incident, and chased her when she ran away from him. He struck her
over the head with a tire iron and stabbed her multiple times with a pair of scissors. A co-worker
intervened by striking Mr. Ward over the head with a thermos. Mr. Ward was convicted of
assault to commit murder for this attack and was sentenced to four months in jail and three years
on probation. Six years later, Mr. Ward killed Ms. Davis.
Mr. Ward has not adequately explained his level of obsession with Ms. Davis or his willingness
to entertain violent fantasies about her death before he carried out this murder. Mr. Ward
explained to the psychologist who evaluated him in 2013 that coming from an abusive home
environment created a heightened sense of fear of abandonment. As a result of this upbringing,
Mr. Ward opined that his obsession lead to the couples breakup because he sabotaged the
relationship to the point of being unsalvageable, and that his obsessive thoughts played a
primary role in the commitment offense because he thought, If I cant have her, no one can.
He told the Board my old thinking was if a woman hurts me emotionally, I will hurt her back a
thousand-foldto the extent of murder. He continued, Now my thinking is my emotional pain
does not justify me murdering anybody.
Persistent, pervasive thoughts about murder and vengeance, stalking an ex-girlfriend for months,
and carrying out a plan to stab and kill her are not normal responses to the end of a romantic
relationship. Abandonment issues from an abusive childhood do not fully explain why Mr. Ward
stalked Ms. Davis and plotted violence for months or why he reacted with escalating aggression
and violence after women broke up with him over the course of twenty years. Until Mr. Ward
can better explain how he became so obsessed with these women that he was willing to stalk and
attack them, I cannot be convinced that he will now be able to stop himself from committing
further violent acts against intimate partners.

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First Degree Murder
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CONCLUSION
I have considered the evidence in the record that is relevant to whether Mr. Ward is currently
dangerous. When considered as a whole, I find the evidence shows that he currently poses an
unreasonable danger to society if released from prison. Therefore, I reverse the decision to
parole Mr. Ward.

Decision Date: October 22, 2014

___________________________________
EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Governor, State of California