A convicted killer will soon walk free after 17 years in prison, but the victim's family is fighting against it.
The family of Maxina "Maxi" Danner said an assistant district attorney blindsided them by recommending the parole board let Royce Miller go.
Danner was 17 and a softball player at Lincoln High School in San Francisco when she was murdered in 2004. The homicide shocked her high school classmates and the entire city.
Miller was convicted of second-degree murder for beating, tasing, and strangling Danner, and then dumping her body in McLaren Park. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
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Late last year, Miller came up for parole asking to be released from San Quentin. Danner's family was caught off guard when an assistant district attorney spoke in favor of Miller's parole.
"The reaction was one of complete and utter shock," said Jeremy Weltman, Danner's brother-in-law.
Weltman said the prosecutor's recommendation to release Miller was not what they wanted, and they were not told beforehand.
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"We had no idea that the DA's office could take a position that they were in support of a parole," Weltman said.
Miller was granted parole after 17 years in prison.
Danner's family expects he could be released as soon as next week and are now pleading with the only person who can overturn the ruling, Gov. Gavin Newsom. Weltman said asking for the governor's help is the family's "last ditch effort."
A spokesperson for Newsom said "if his office receives the case from the Board of Parole Hearings, it will be reviewed carefully."
Meanwhile, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins appears to have been surprised by her assistant district attorney's actions, saying "the parole hearing was not handled how we expect such matters to be handled."
"Each case up for parole review is thoroughly reviewed to ensure that the requestor has been rehabilitated and the victim or their surviving family members are consulted before taking any position," Jenkins said. "That did not happen in this case. The new protocols put into place should prevent a situation like this from happening again."
Jenkins added the assistant DA in question no longer works for her. The office is also conducting another review of the case, which it will quickly submit to the governor.
Danner's family hopes it will help.
"While my family is disappointed this happened to us in the second parole hearing, I don't want it to suggest we have an overall problem with the DA's office, particularly if the DA's office is willing to come out and make this right for us," Weltman said.
More information on the parole suitability process can be found here.
The governor’s office encourages all victims and survivors of crime to contact the Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services for support and information, and to register for notifications.
Full statement from San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins:
The Royce Miller parole hearing was not handled how we expect such matters to be handled. It is expected that the family of victims are communicated with leading up to and through these hearings. The attorney that handled this hearing has been removed from handling these types of hearings and is no longer employed with the District Attorney’s Office. Since then, new protocols have been put in place to ensure that management has reviewed and approved parole hearing recommendations on behalf of the office and that victims have been contacted.
The District Attorney’s Office strives to ensure that each case up for parole review is thoroughly reviewed to ensure that the requestor has been rehabilitated and the victim or their surviving family members are consulted before taking any position. That did not happen in this case. The new protocols put into place should prevent a situation like this from happening again.
The District Attorney meets with victims and survivors of crime upon request and is open to meeting with Maxina’s family. At their request we are conducting another review of this case and have notified the Governor’s office of this additional review and that we will be remitting the findings of our review expeditiously.
