SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has reversed a parole decision for a man convicted of raping and killing his stepmother and a family friend more than 40 years ago in Southern California.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday that Brown reversed a May decision by the Board of Parole Hearings in favor of parole for 61-year-old Gregory Coates.
Coates was convicted of raping and killing his stepmother when he was 17 years old. He was also convicted of killing a friend’s mother in Riverside.
For both murders, he was sentenced to 12 years to life in prison.
Brown says Coates needs to do more to understand and explain these horrible crimes and releasing him would pose a danger to society.
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