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ByPaulElias TheAssociatedPress SAN FRANCISCO One of two so-called "San Fran- cisco witch killers" was de- nied parole Wednesday, state prison officials said. A California parole board found Suzan Carson, 73, unfit for early release and scheduled her next parole consideration for 2030, California Department of Corrections and Rehabili- tation spokesman Luis Pa- tino said. Carson and her husband were convicted of killing three in Northern Califor- nia in the 1980s during a drug-fueled religious quest to rid the world of witches. They were each sentenced to 75 years to life. "I am so happy we won't have to worry about her for another 15 years," said Lisa Long, the sister of the cou- ple's first victim. Long trav- eled from Atlanta to testify at Suzan Carson's hear- ing at a women's prison in Chino, California, 50 miles east of Los Angeles. "They are pure evil," Long said. Long said that Suzan Car- son didn't attend the hear- ing. Her attorney Laura Sheppard said earlier that her client refused to meet with her and "doesn't seem interested in attempting to seek parole." Sheppard didn't return phone calls after the hear- ing. The Carsons qualified for parole consideration after a federal court con- cerned with prison over- crowding ordered hear- ings for about 1,400 in- mates older than 60 who have served more than 25 years of their sentences. Michael Carson canceled his parole hearing in June, saying he refuses to re- nounce his violent religious beliefs. He is scheduled for parole review in five years. "I know this is absurd," Michael Carson wrote prison officials from Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, on a form for- mally canceling his hear- ing. "No one is going to pa- role me because I will not and have not renounced my beliefs." The killers' chance at freedom has upset families of their victims, who say the self-described vegetar- ian Muslim "warriors" have never expressed remorse or abandoned beliefs that they were on a "holy war against witches" during their kill- ing spree. "Witchcraft, homosex- uality and abortion are causes for death," said bearded, long-haired Mi- chael Carson during a 1983 "press conference" arranged by investigators with San Francisco media that lasted five hours. Authorities allowed the jailhouse interview in ex- change for incriminat- ing information about the three murders. With his wife smiling by his side, Carson described her as "a yogi and a mystic with knowledge of past, present and future events." The cou- ple described themselves as Muslim. Suzan Carson told report- ers she ordered her husband to kill Karen Barnes in her San Francisco apartment in 1981 because she falsely converted to their religion and was "draining" Suzan of her health and "yogic powers." The couple killed twice more in California be- fore capture in 1983. Since February 2014, 267 elderly inmates have been granted parole and 729 have been denied, accord- ing to the department. An additional 450 hearings have been cancelled or post- poned. Despite the odds against the couple's release, Mi- chael Carson's daughter is aiding the families and for- mally opposes her father's release as well. "They are still dangerous," she said. Jennifer Carson said her college-educated dad was a stay-at-home father caring for her in 1970s suburban Phoenix while her mother supported the family by teaching. "I remember those times as very happy times," Jen- nifer said. "But then his be- havior began to change." She said her father changed dramatically af- ter he met Suzan Carson at a party. The couple soon divorced their respective spouses and married each other. Jennifer Carson said her father and Suzan were heavy drug users who cre- ated their own moral and religious code. "It was like a match meeting dynamite," she said of the day the cou- ple met. CONVICTED OF 3 SLAYINGS Board denies parole to 'San Francisco witch killer' DAVIDGOLDMAN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Lisa Long looks down at the grave of her sister, Karen Barnes, as she sits for a portrait holding her photo in Jonesboro, Georgia. By Juliet Williams The Associated Press SACRAMENTO More than half of Californians view climate change as a very serious problem facing the state, a higher rate than their counterparts nation- wide, and a majority sup- port the state's efforts to curb emissions, accord- ing to a survey released Wednesday. The poll by the Public Pol- icy Institute of California comes as thousands of offi- cials gather in Paris for the U.N. Climate Change con- ference. They include Gov. Jerry Brown, who will pro- mote the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emis- sions and urge other states and provinces to sign on to his nonbinding pact pledg- ing to reduce carbon emis- sions. In the poll, 57 percent of adults rated global climate change as a very serious problem. Another 23 per- cent said it is a somewhat serious problem, while 18 percent called it not too se- rious or not a problem. Californians also appear to have bought into messag- ing from Brown and fellow Democrats who say efforts to address climate change by curbing emissions, mak- ing buildings more energy efficient and reducing oil will not hurt the state's economy: 45 percent believe the state's efforts will lead to more jobs. About a quar- ter said there would be no effect on jobs and about two in 10 said the state would lose jobs. "Californians are tak- ing global climate change very seriously and seem to be unmoved by the argu- ments about the negative impact of state actions on jobs," PPIC President and CEO Mark Baldassare said. In a spring poll by the Pew Research Center, 45 percent of Americans rated global climate change as a serious problem. California already has some of the world's toughest air quality standards, and set a mandate in 2006 to de- rive a third of its electric- ity from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geo- thermal by 2020. The state established the first U.S. program to cap and trade emissions by enabling pol- luters to buy and sell credits in carbon auctions. Legisla- tion that Brown signed this year will expand on those efforts. A coalition of state law- makers and business in- terests will join Brown in Paris, including billionaire climate activist and Demo- cratic donor Tom Steyer. "California has a unique position of saying you can have progressive energy policies and a good job- creating healthy prosper- ous economy at the same time," Steyer said in an in- terview Wednesday. On other issues, PPIC found: • Californians rate water and the drought as the most important issue facing the state, followed closely by jobs and the economy. • Fifty-seven percent of adults say it's very impor- tant to raise the minimum wage. • More than half of adults support extending the tem- porary Proposition 30 sales and income tax increases next year. • A third say legalizing recreational marijuana is a very important issue, but a similar number says it's not important at all. PPIC surveyed 1,703 Cal- ifornia adults by telephone in English and Spanish from Nov. 8-17. The poll has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.7 percent- age points. CURBING EMISSIONS Poll: Californians say climate change a very serious problem By Amanda Lee Myers The Associated Press LOSANGELES An unarmed man who lost a quarter of his skull after being shot by a Los Angeles police officer notified the city and police department on Wednesday that he plans to sue, claim- ing the shooting was part of a broad, disturbing pattern in the police force of the na- tion's second-largest city. Attorneys for Walter DeLeon, 49, filed the no- tice of claim in Los Ange- les County Superior Court. The notice, a precursor to a lawsuit, accuses police Offi- cer Cairo Palacios of shoot- ing an unarmed DeLeon without warning on June 19 as he was on his regu- lar evening walk to a pop- ular park. Palacios' attorney, Gary Fullerton, said the shoot- ing was within departmen- tal policy because Palacios was convinced that a towel wrapped around DeLeon's hand was hiding a gun and that he and his partner were in imminent danger. "He basically forced their hand to deal with him," Fullerton said. "In the mat- ter of a couple seconds they have to make a choice, and the choice is, 'Do I let him shoot me first and then fire?' or 'Do I shoot first and de- fend myself?'" Soon after DeLeon was shot, a police spokesman said Palacios and another officer were driving in stop-and-go traffic when they saw DeLeon walk ag- gressively toward them on a sidewalk. Police Cmdr. Andrew Smith,adepartmentspokes- man, said DeLeon's hands were clasped together and wrapped in a gray cloth, and that the officers believed he had a gun. Smith said De- Leon was shot after ignor- ing orders to drop the gun. DeLeon's attorney, Ben Meiselas, said DeLeon had a towel wrapped around his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow on a hot summer day, and that DeLeon had been flagging down the of- ficers for help, though he said his client can't remem- ber why. "The next thing he was shot, and the next thing he remembers is he was in the hospital," Meiselas said. "This is the most cata- strophic of catastrophic in- juries and it affects every as- pect of life — physical, eco- nomic, family. It's a total destruction of self and self- worth, and the only way to rebuild is through this pro- cess we're initiating." DeLeon lost a quarter of his skull, almost all his eye- sight and the ability to walk. He still has his memory and most cognitive functions but has trouble speaking. LOST PART OF SKULL Ma n sh ot i n he ad p la ns t o su e LA PD 741Main Street,Suite#2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK www.redbluffcoldwellbanker.com See All Tehama County Listings at IfyouareConsidering Selling Your Home, Now is the Time! PropertyisSelling and Listings are in Short Supply! CallTehamaCountiesLargest Real Estate Office and let our Knowledgeable and Professional Realtors assist you Today! 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