The man who used a meat cleaver to castrate and murder his father three years ago is facing a paperwork problem. Last year, Jan Erickson was convicted of second-degree murder and mayhem, but California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records erroneously indicate he was convicted of first-degree murder.
“Obviously it is a serious matter that needs to be corrected,” said San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Stephen Rosen, who represented Erickson in the trial last year. Erickson wrote to the San Francisco Superior Court last week from San Quentin State Prison, asking that the court clear up the record.
The difference, Rosen said, is that a first-degree murder conviction makes Erickson eligible for parole after 25 years — 10 years longer than the time it takes for a second-degree murderer to be eligible for parole. Oddly enough, though, a fax from the California Department of Corrections to Legal Pad's offices indicates that Erickson’s sentence is 15 years for first-degree murder.
Erickson was acquitted of torture, despite stabbing his dad 37 times, including in the eyes, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Rosen wasn’t sure what agency was responsible for the mix-up, but he said it had to have been either the court in making the abstract of judgment or the Department of Corrections in interpretation of the abstract of judgment.
— Millie Lapidario
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