Judges Grant Parole To Mother Who Killed Sons

July 15, 2011 11:20 PM

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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – An appeal panel has granted parole to a woman who has spent 25 years in prison for murdering her two sons, overturning a decision by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009 to keep her behind bars.

The Sacramento Court of Appeals ruled on July 8 that Darlene Brazil has made enough strides in therapy and in learning new trades that she is no longer a threat to society (.pdf), citing her vocational trading and volunteer work with children as evidence of her improving mental state.

Brazil was sentenced to two concurrent sentences of 15-years-to-life for suffocating her 4-year-old son B.J. with a pillow and then suffocating her 1-year-old son Brian on a pullout couch on May 20, 1986.

Brazil said she unsuccessfully attempted suicide after the killings because she wanted to be “all together in heaven” with her children. A confrontation with her ex-husband, who told her he was sleeping with another woman, tipped her over the edge and made her feel like she had no reason to live, she said.

A two-member parole panel ruled in 2009 that Brazil no longer showed signs of any mental illnesses and was no longer a threat to society, but Schwarzenegger reversed their decision later that year, calling the murders “especially atrocious” and expressing doubt that Brazil had been rehabilitated.

The appeals panel said recent psychiatric evaluations showed no signs of personality disorder and called her behavior in prison exemplary, saying Brazil has “taken advantage of every conceivable self-help program.”

The panel also took issue with Schwarzenegger’s description of the crime as “atrocious,” saying the murders cannot be described as “an especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel method of committing second degree murder,” according to the final ruling.

“Brazil used no weapon to commit the crimes. She did not shoot her children, beat them or torture them. She accomplished the killings in the most straightforward, direct way available,” the ruling stated.

Myrtle Norcom, the woman who discovered the horrifying aftermath of the 1986 murders, said she was stunned to learn that Brazil was granted parole and said she hasn’t served enough time.

“I couldn’t believe she did that to those babies,” Norcom said. “Even now it’s quite vivid in my mind, like it’s etched in there.”

Norcom said she still places Christmas ornaments every year in memory of the two boys.

If the parole board has no objections to the appeal panel’s ruling, Brazil will be released in less than 30 days.

Judges Grant Parole To Mother Who Killed Sons

Rusty

So killing your kids in the most direct manner is acceptable to this panel of fools. Lesson to be learned…just choke your victims, don’t use any weapons.
E

The “ruling” is justifying how she killed her sons. That is atrocious. On the other hand, I guess she did her time and has to live with the memory and guilt of what she did the rest of her days and she gets a second chance at life. Not a second chance at killing herelf though, so she obviously is cured of her memories and guilt. That would mean she no longer has a personality disorder, right?

Whitey

Crazy much? served her time? LOL murdering two defenseless children is beyond words. I guess since she’s WHITE makes it o.k. U sound just as sick as this dumb broad…

hsmith

What is UP with parents getting away with murdering their own babies???? WHY wouldn’t this of been a murder 1 charge, life in prison? Makes no sense how we let murderers/rapists/child killers on the loose so that they can reek more havoc on society!
lisa

let out child killers—great. this state should also rule to bring her kids back–they’ve been dead long enough and they promise to be good if you give them another chance.
andrea v

there is no justifying murder, she over powered these little ones and took their life away knowingly she had the power to do so.. leaving her in prison would give the little angels justice… no matter how the act was committed it was still in result of taking a life!! our state is really out of wack.. she will probably be another looney fallen in the cracks like garrido!!
Festus Bazoomies

“Brazil used no weapon to commit the crimes. She did not shoot her children, beat them or torture them. She accomplished the killings in the most straightforward, direct way available,” the ruling stated.

Bottom line is she killed her children…who cares if she didn’t use a weapon. She should be in jail for the rest of her life.
swinss

murder is murder……………
There is something seriously wrong with California’s judicial system!
Danny Whitted

I thought for sure I read that wrong when it said ,,,
The panel also took issue with Schwarzenegger’s description of the crime as “atrocious,” saying the murders cannot be described as “an especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel method of committing second degree murder,” according to the final ruling.
So suficating your kids with a pillow is not considerd atrocious ? Who the F*** is on this panal!?!
BigRed

Cailfornia has sentenced many to less time for murder. It appears that this woman committed the murder with a tortured and confused mind. She’s done her time. The parole board does not lightly grant releases. I say leave her be. She must live with the impact and guilt of her crimes which does not end upon her release. It would seem that we should all have enough of our own business to mind!
timatoe

So if you kill your two kids and then do volunteer work with children that proves you’re not a threat to society? Wow, just wait till all the pedophiles figure this out. May as well just empty the prisons, after all why should we law abiding tax payers have to keep footing the bill for these people? INSANE
Carol

Interesting how Arnie wouldn’t commute the sentence of a woman who was suffering from post partum depression after she served nearly 80% of her sentence, but he fully pardoned his friend’s murdering gang banger son after serving less than 40% of his sentence.
I am so happy that lieing slime is no longer governor. Too bad those who voted for him didn’t see his true nature ahead of time and save us from all his illegal buddy favors he performed while in office, on our nickel and destroying our great state.

endtimes beginning

IT MIGHT INTEREST YOU TO READ MORE ABOUT OPPS his friends son, their was more than one young man envolved and he was defending himself. No comparison with this monster mom what so ever. Those babies were completly helpless they had no way to try to defend themselves. When you have corrupt judges they can make a mockery out of justice. This is just the beginning of what is going to happen when perversion rules.
Jon Bews

Arnold would’d commute the sentence of a women who killed her two sons ??? how dare him !!!! hu ???? unbelievable ….

jackie

The only thing that would destroy California would be one horrific tsnami.It was here before the adulterator and it will be here long after the adulterator is long gone.
Jon Bews

First off Jerry Brown is gov not Arnold . Arnold kept her in prison where the monster belongs . So know what your talking about first before you leave comments .

For the losers who let her out of prison , she used a item to kill her kids .. that becomes a weapon . You dont deserve to have that power to release inmates .
Joe

So basically, if your are going to murder a family member, move to California (or Florida) b/c the punishment just is not that harsh. Killing a 4 year old and a 1 year old should result in the death penalty. Hopefully this monster gets run over by a bus, b/c there aint no justice for her two little boys.
Joe

Probably one of the few things arnold did right, by not allowing this atrocious monster out of her cage. The meatheads on that panel should use her for babysitting services.
Jeff Paulson

Please try and understand people, the State of California does not have any “prisons” … in California we have “corrections facilities”. The liberal left saw to it years ago that we stop “punishing” societies offenders, and we simply “correct their behavior”, because of course “Punishment is bad. Correction is good.”

What reporters and the public generally think of and refer to as “prison” are really “corrections facilities” … just read the signage posted in front of each and every one of them. It not “Folsom State Prison”, it’s Folsom State Correctional Facility”.

The recent ruling of a judge to let prisoners go … this ruling … all have roots in the fact that we don’t have facilities for “punishing” people. Until California reinstates a “prison” system … this story will become the norm.

Michael Evans

You have no idea of what you are talking about. If you would bother actually looking into the STATED GOALS of the CDCR is NOT to rehabilitate or even attempt to ” correct ” someone’s behaviour. They are there strictly to house and punish inmates for their crimes. What is Pelican Bay about? Corcoran? 23 hour lock down THAT IS A PRISON not a correction anything. Heck, at Corcoran the guards have been KNOWN to use prisoners for target practice after enjoying the ” Gladiator Fights ” that the guards set up. Again PRISON not CORRECTION

play13

Dude your statement about correction is ridiculous. First off you sound like the rest of the people who are either uneducated about what realy goes on in a prison or have family serving time in prison that has fed you a bunch of B.S. . Prisons 30or 40 years ago were like that, but now its all about how much can we as society give these animals while the rest of us are the suckers who get up at the crack of dawn to go to work and pay are fair share of taxes. Also pelican bay and corcoran are not completely on lock down 23 hours status. Only the inmates with disciplinary issues that cannot program with the rest of the population go to the SHU or AdSeg unit were they are on lock down. So in reality you have know idea of what your talking about and you should educate yourself before you criticize somebody else.
Jeff Paulson

From the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan of the CDCR
“A safer California through correctional excellence.” This new vision for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/
Kim G

I know someone who spent years in Corcoran, its not prison. Its a country club with an extended stay.

Skilled Ape

You all have valid descriptions. I won’t get into how I can tell you. The current term of ‘correctional’ is politicaly correct. But that doesn’t mean it’s accurate. Seems more of a front to appease the rediculous “free ____” signholders that can’t seem to imagine what it’s like to be or have a loved one as a victim of a degenerate p.o.s. that should be put down.

Ginna

Didn’t the parole board release Phillip Garrido with the notation that he showed no signs of mental issues and that he posed no risk to the general public? Sorry, I see no way a homicidal woman can suddenly became perfectly sane with no further chance of psychotic reactions later on in life.

She murdered her kids because she felt she had nothing to live for when her baby daddy said he was sleeping with someone else. If she thought that was reason enough to kill her kids, she deserves to rot in jail. Parole? Please. I hope she reoffends quickly and goes in for life.
bb

How sweet of this child murderer, to put an ornament up in remembering
the two sons she killed. Its good I wasnt on her trial, she would get the same
she did to her two innocent sons. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE JUSTICE????

James Rudd

“Norcom said she still places Christmas ornaments every year in memory of the two boys.” NOT THE MOTHER.
heather thornbrue dingess

It is the family she stayed with that discovered Bj and Brian that hang ornaments. This whole family and everyone involved are and will forever be haunted by this tragedy. I was married to the father of Bj and saw on a daily basis how he had been traumatized and repeated parole hearings for her to say it was his fault. She has never taken responsibility but instead has learned how to work the system. I hope she doesn’t reoffend but rather country justice gets her.

ted phillips

Kill tghis story. You have run it for at least 3 days in an apparent attempt to inflame the public against this grant of parole properly upheld by the court. the grant of parol after 25 years for this woman is clearly the right thing to do however you look at it. Twenty five years is a very long time to serve for a woman who was clearly clinically insane, if not legally so, when she killed her children. Doesn’t Christianity teach redemption.
A less important point is that taxpayers should not be charged the cost of keeping persons like her in prison indefinitely. Nearly all of our sentences in this state or draconian by most standards.

Skilled Ape

Current judicial system isn’t based on christianity. The right thing to do was death by lethal injection 25 years ago.

ted

….”her volunteer work with children”…..

???????????
Vic

Wow…I cannot believe she was able to communicate or even allowed to be around children as a volunteerl. I also love the ruling by the review panel that the murder was done in the most straightforward, direct way possible. Almost sounds sweet.The people on the panel…suck. So kill your kids with a gentle manner, be really good and do everything you are told and you too can get out of jail..she should never have had the privledge of even one breath for the past 25 years! But now she can live her life as an exemplary parolee to others. Trust me I don’t like paying taxes for all the benefits she has had during her term but I do not want her out either and would pay more to keep her in!

Skilled Ape

Why pay for her to stay in? What happened to the death penalty?! We voted for it and they don’t use it near enough. This B should have been injected after conviction in the “straighforward direct way available”. I guess the sheer terror and horror those boys felt while they tried to fight their way to breath must not have been an issue for the ‘panel’.

vic

Agreed Skilled Ape…I kinda wondered if we even had the Death Penalty anymore in California…was going to Goggle it. When was it used last? Curious…? I was raised in a Christian faith and get confused on the Thou shall not kill and an eye for an eye part. I have never commented before on a topic, this just made me sad and disheartened.

mary

I cannot believe that anyone, even a politician can confidently say that “she used no weapons, therefore she she can be rehabilitated and has been.”
This is one of the most egregious misinterpretations of “Justice.” Fine,let her watch your children, let her rehabilitated,not a threat to society self live next door toyour schools and homes.
chezstickz

Apparently she didn’t try very hard attempting HER OWN suicide. And to say she didn’t torture those boys, she tortured them as she suffocated them. Maybe she didn’t torture them for days or months but she was torturing them as suffocated them. NO she should never be paroled. I sure wouldn’t want her volunteering anywhere near my children.
blank

People who are unstable, please do not have children! Also, you are not GOD! You cannot take anyone’s life!
jackie

Ummm I know someone I would like to smother(NOT A CHILD)all right, a pillow is not a weapon cool. Ya got an enemy get rid of him/her with a pillow it is not a weapon, now I HAVE heard everything.