State Sen. Anthony Cannella this week joined Assemblyman Luis Alejo and the county board in requesting a parole denial for murderer and rapist Gustavo Marlow.
Cannella sent a letter to the Board of Parole Hearings requesting the denial of parole for the man who murdered a 16-year-old Hollister girl and 21-year-old Hollister woman in 1988. Marlow three years later raped a worker at a state youth prison in Stockton while escaping.
Alejo previously sent a letter to the state requesting a denial of parole for Gustavo Marlow. He and Cannella represent San Benito County.
Alejo voted against Senate Bill 260, legislation approved in 2013 that opened the door for the release of Marlow and other convicts who committed violent acts as juveniles. Cannella voted in favor of the bill.
“The horrific rapes and murders of these young women sent shockwaves throughout their communities and caused irreparable harm to the murdered victims’ families and the surviving victim and her family,” the Alejo letter read. “They deserve to have the comfort and peace of mind of knowing Marlow will spend the rest of his life in prison without parole.”
Alejo mentioned how although he was against the bill, he didn’t believe “the intent and spirit of SB 260 was to put violent and disturbed offenders back on the streets.”
“This individual must never be released on parole,” he wrote.
Cannella in his letter wrote how Hollister residents “continue to be haunted by this horrific crimes committed by Marlow.”
“The families of the murdered young women and the surviving rape victim will live with the irreparable harm he caused to their lives,” he wrote. “They deserve to know that a violent offender such as Marlow will never be released from prison.”
