Convicted killer Jason Greenwell will remain behind bars after California Governor Gavin Newsom reversed a parole board's decision to release him.
Greenwell is one of five people convicted of murder in the death of 15-year-old Dystiny Myers.
In September 2010, Greenwell, along with Ty Michael Hill, Frank Jacob York, Rhonda Wisto, and Cody Miller, bound and beat Myers in Nipomo, then buried her in a shallow grave near Santa Margarita Lake and set a fire. Myers' partially burned body was later found in the grave.
In 2013, Greenwell pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison.
However, because of Prop. 57, passed by voters in 2016, Greenwell came up for parole early. The law allows convicted murderers and other violent criminals to reduce up to a third of their sentence on "good time" credits.
In November 2021, a two-person panel of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Parole Board granted Greenwell parole suitability.
The governor reversed the grant on Tuesday, saying he believes Greenwell "poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time."
In his written decision, Gov. Newsom said, "I have carefully examined the record for evidence that Mr. Greenwell’s insight and self-awareness have developed sufficiently to minimize his risk factors. Unfortunately, I find that Mr. Greenwell’s discussion of the causative factors for his involvement in the crime indicate gaps in insight that bear on his current risk level."
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said he was pleased with the governor's decision.
"I am grateful for Governor Newsom’s decision to reverse the Board of Parole Hearings’ decision,” Dow said in a statement. “We agree with the Governor’s conclusion that Greenwell currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time.”
Three of the other murderers in this case - Hill, York, and Wisto - are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. Miller took his own life in prison.
