Summary (continued)
A judge granted a request on Tuesday by Charles Williams, who was 15 when he opened fire with his father’s revolver at Santana High School in San Diego in 2001, allowing his case to be resentenced after more than two decades behind bars.
The decision means Williams’ case will be sent to juvenile court, a procedural step that prosecutors said could result in his immediate release from prison without parole supervision or evaluation. Williams was serving a 50-years-to-life sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty in connection with the school shooting.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan’s office said prosecutors will seek review in the appellate court to try to stop the outcome. Stephan said, in remarks carried by the Associated Press, that prosecutors’ duty is to ensure justice for victims and protect public safety, and she argued that the 50-years-to-life sentence remains warranted.
Williams’ attorneys did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, the Associated Press reported. Williams is currently being held at the California Institution for Men in Chino, according to the report.
The shooting occurred on March 5, 2001. Williams pleaded guilty to killing two students and injuring others after opening fire at Santana High School with his father’s revolver, prosecutors said at the time. In Tuesday’s ruling, the case’s sentencing posture is now expected to change as part of the resentencing process.
As the case has moved forward, Williams’ eligibility for parole had already reached a key milestone. Now age 39, he became eligible for parole in September 2024, but the parole board denied his request, according to the report, finding him to be an “unreasonable risk to public safety” and stating it was unclear whether he understood why he committed the shooting.
Prosecutors said that because of Williams’ age at the time of the shooting, if he is released from prison, his convictions will be redesignated as juvenile “true findings” and the matter will proceed to a juvenile disposition hearing, with the possibility of juvenile probation.
The resentencing petition is tied to changes in California law that allow some juvenile offenders who received life without parole to seek resentencing. The Associated Press reported that Williams was able to petition due to a 2011 law and that a 2022 appeals court decision extended eligibility to those with the “functional equivalent” of life without parole sentences.