Woman convicted in ’95 homeless man’s killing granted parole
State officials have granted parole for a 59-year-old woman convicted in the killing of a 74-year-old homeless man found sleeping in his car in Modesto.
Terry Jean Harrison, 59, was found suitable for parole at a Dec. 10 hearing, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office announced this past week. Prosecutors said Harrison, with her two sons and two of their friends, planned to rob someone to buy methamphetamine before they attacked William Smith in June 1995.
In 1996, Harrison was convicted of murder, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery. She was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Deputy District Attorney John R. Mayne appeared at the parole board hearing last week, seeking continued confinement for Harrison. Mayne argued that Harrison should remain in prison based on the nature of the crime and the defendant’s multiple prison violations during her first decade behind bars.
Prosecutors said the parole board determined that Harrison presented a low risk of reoffending based on a psychologist’s report, along with the defendant’s much-improved behavior and use of prison rehabilitation programs over the past several years.
The others involved in the deadly robbery also were convicted. Her sons received life sentences in prison. Prosecutors said Harrison watched her sons and their two friends beat Smith and shove him in the trunk of the old Ford sedan. Then, Harrison drove them all back to her home.
During the ride, Smith made noises in the trunk, but Harrison repeatedly slammed on the brakes to stop him, according to prosecutors. Harrison arrived home and told an acquaintance she didn’t know what to do with Smith, who was still in the car’s trunk. The acquaintance and others took Smith away, killed him and stuffed his body in an irrigation pipe at an orchard near Hughson.
Harrison, who has significant health issues, told the parole board she was responsible for the slaying and should not have involved her children or herself in the “evil” activities that led to murder, according to prosecutors.
The parole board scheduled Harrison’s release date for Feb. 13, 2022, due to the circumstances surrounding the murder. Harrison, however, will be released from prison on Dec. 25, 2016, based on state legislation passed this year.
Prosecutors said state Senate Bill 230, which takes effect Jan. 1, removed a sentencing guideline that allowed the parole board to consider the gravity of a crime and other factors. The revised parole guidelines allow for a prompt release or release at the minimum eligible parole date, which was a year from now in Harrison’s case.
This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 2:51 PM with the headline "Woman convicted in ’95 homeless man’s killing granted parole."