SLO County DA asks governor to not grant parole to Dystiny Myers’ murderer
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday asking him to review and reverse a recent decision to grant Jason Greenwell parole suitability.
Greenwell plead guilty to murdering 15-year-old Santa Maria resident Dystiny Myers in 2010. The then-20-year-old was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Three others convicted in Myers’ murder — Ty Michael Hill, Frank Jacob York and Rhonda Wisto — are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for Myers’ murder. Cody Miller, the fourth person convicted of the murder, died while in prison in 2016.
Greenwell remains incarcerated at the California Institution for Men in Chico until the 150-day review period of the parole board’s Nov. 18 decision is over. At the end of that period, Newsom will review Greenwell’s eligibility for parole and either uphold, reverse or modify the decision, or send it back to the full parole board for reconsideration.
Dow said in his letter to Newsom that “the grant of parole was improper.”
“The board failed to consider the fact that Greenwell participated in the callous, heinous murder of an innocent girl,” his letter read. “It is our position that the parole panel disregarded and gave inadequate weight to the gravity of the crime this inmate committed and looked instead only at his behavior in prison. We ask that you review the case carefully and use your authority to reverse this improvident grant of parole.”
In his letter, Dow reminded Newsom of the gruesome details of the 2010 murder.
“Dystiny was brutally beaten, taped to a chair, then removed, placed in a bag, thrown in the back of a truck, taken to a remote area, dumped into a shallow grave and set on fire,” the letter reads. “Her partially burned remains were discovered (near Santa Margarita Lake) by a Cal Fire employee.”
Greenwell appears to have been granted parole before spending the full 15 years in prison largely because of Proposition 57, which was passed in 2016.
The proposition allows individuals convicted of violent crimes to receive up to a 33% reduction in the length of their sentence for participating in rehabilitative programs and positive activities that show their commitment to good behavior.
“The effect is that Greenwell has served just 11 years and two months for this horrific crime,” Dow wrote in his letter to Newsom.
Newsom’s decision regarding Greenwell’s parole eligibility is due on April 17.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 4:45 PM.
