- Joined
- Jul 27, 2010
- Messages
- 30,543
I've been lost in thought today, spurred on by California Senate Bill No. 94. It's a bill that would reduce
or commute the sentences of the state's most violent felons. Murderers and rapists could be released
and one of those who could be released is my friend, Guy Musladin.
Guy was my next door neighbor in my High School years. We would play baseball and jaw each other about who's
MLB team was best, the Dodgers or the A's? Guy's Dad was an ex-minor leaguer and could still hit a baseball
a ton in his 50's. My most fun time was in 1988 when it was the Dodgers vs the A's in the World Series
and the Dodgers won against a powerhouse team. Guy's Dad was a good sport and gave me an Orel
Hershiser rookie card afterwards (they were all A's fans).. Anyway, I knew Guy off and on for 10 plus years.
He was convicted of 1st degree murder for slaying his ex-wife's fiancée around 1994. I moved from NorCal to Oregon
in 1989 and was working like a dog at the time and had no idea what happened. I communicated with
Guy one time from prison and he told me his side. He said that his ex-wife had custody of their little boy
and was living with the fiancée. According to Guy, the man was a drug dealer and was becoming an
unwelcome part of his son's life. He went to pick up his son for the day and had an altercation with the
boyfriend and Guy ran out to his car and got a gun from the glove box and ended up shooting and killing
him. Guy says that his shot was a ricochet that killed the boyfriend (court agreed). He explained that there
were drugs and guns involved with the boyfriend, but evidence had been excluded by the cops at
the scene.
Guy was a very passionate young man and he was crazy about his son. Would he kill someone that was a
perceived threat to his son? Yeah, I think so. Hell, I would probably do the same. The victim's friends and
relatives wore picture buttons of the dead boyfriend during the trial which gave Guy grounds for an appeal.
He won the appeal (California Court of Appeals), but lost again in the US Supreme Court (Carey vs Musladin).
My friend has been in jail or prison for 29 years which is basically his whole adult life. I wasn't in court to
hear all of the evidence and I am biased due to my relationship with him. Would the young Guy I knew be a
danger to society now? No, I don't think so. But this happened when he was 24 years old and now he is 63 years
old.and I don't know what prison life did to him. I lost contact with him over the years which is on me. There
didn't seem to be any hope for him getting out because he was sentenced to life without parole, but now he
seems to be qualified if that bill passes. Is he "institutionalized" like Brooks was in Shawshank Redemption?
Unlike Red, I'm not waiting for him on a Baja beach, refinishing a boat like Andy Dufresne. I have thought
about him for years, but I don't know what to do. His Dad died of a broken heart soon after he was convicted
and I don't know if there is anyone left to help him if he gets out. He may have deserved it, but I don't know.
It's certainly a nightmare.
or commute the sentences of the state's most violent felons. Murderers and rapists could be released
and one of those who could be released is my friend, Guy Musladin.
Guy was my next door neighbor in my High School years. We would play baseball and jaw each other about who's
MLB team was best, the Dodgers or the A's? Guy's Dad was an ex-minor leaguer and could still hit a baseball
a ton in his 50's. My most fun time was in 1988 when it was the Dodgers vs the A's in the World Series
and the Dodgers won against a powerhouse team. Guy's Dad was a good sport and gave me an Orel
Hershiser rookie card afterwards (they were all A's fans).. Anyway, I knew Guy off and on for 10 plus years.
He was convicted of 1st degree murder for slaying his ex-wife's fiancée around 1994. I moved from NorCal to Oregon
in 1989 and was working like a dog at the time and had no idea what happened. I communicated with
Guy one time from prison and he told me his side. He said that his ex-wife had custody of their little boy
and was living with the fiancée. According to Guy, the man was a drug dealer and was becoming an
unwelcome part of his son's life. He went to pick up his son for the day and had an altercation with the
boyfriend and Guy ran out to his car and got a gun from the glove box and ended up shooting and killing
him. Guy says that his shot was a ricochet that killed the boyfriend (court agreed). He explained that there
were drugs and guns involved with the boyfriend, but evidence had been excluded by the cops at
the scene.
Guy was a very passionate young man and he was crazy about his son. Would he kill someone that was a
perceived threat to his son? Yeah, I think so. Hell, I would probably do the same. The victim's friends and
relatives wore picture buttons of the dead boyfriend during the trial which gave Guy grounds for an appeal.
He won the appeal (California Court of Appeals), but lost again in the US Supreme Court (Carey vs Musladin).
My friend has been in jail or prison for 29 years which is basically his whole adult life. I wasn't in court to
hear all of the evidence and I am biased due to my relationship with him. Would the young Guy I knew be a
danger to society now? No, I don't think so. But this happened when he was 24 years old and now he is 63 years
old.and I don't know what prison life did to him. I lost contact with him over the years which is on me. There
didn't seem to be any hope for him getting out because he was sentenced to life without parole, but now he
seems to be qualified if that bill passes. Is he "institutionalized" like Brooks was in Shawshank Redemption?
Unlike Red, I'm not waiting for him on a Baja beach, refinishing a boat like Andy Dufresne. I have thought
about him for years, but I don't know what to do. His Dad died of a broken heart soon after he was convicted
and I don't know if there is anyone left to help him if he gets out. He may have deserved it, but I don't know.
It's certainly a nightmare.