A Garden Runs Through It

The crew is joined by Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Farrell as he discusses a momentous win with a lawsuit against the State of California in effort to keep a convicted killer behind bars. 

In July of 1997, Nathan Ramazini, then 16, and Leopoldo Contreras, then 19, brutally murdered their friend, 16-year-old Erik Ingebretson. Traumatizing the small town of Colusa forever. 

Ramazzini was believed to be the driving force behind the killing and  was tried as an adult. He was found guilty by a jury and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Contreras accepted a plea bargain from prosecutors and was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison. 

Fast Forward to October 2017 where Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 394 that granted parole hearings to inmates sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed before the age of 18. 

In an effort to keep a dangerous killer in jail, Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Farrell drafted a writ to the Court of Appeals that Senate Bill 394 violated the California Constitution. The writ was filed in June of 2018. 

Meanwhile, SB 9, authorized a prisoner who was under the age of 18 at the time of committing an offense for which the prisoner was sentenced to life without parole to submit a petition for recall and resentencing, and in October of 2018, Ramazini did just that. 

The case was brought back to Colusa County Courts and retraumatized a scarred community. Evidence was revisited, and statements reiterated. Four days later, Judge Jeffery Thompson upheld the original sentence of life in prison, without the possibility of parole. 

However, SB 394 would have allow Ramazzini to be eligible for parole under the new law in July 2021. In October, Farrell finally received the opportunity in the Sacramento County Superior Court where Judge James Arguelies rolled that SB 394 was unlawful. 

Pioneer Review articles written on this topic (paywall):

• 02/07/2018 - Ramazzini seeks reduced sentence, hearing set for May 10
• 05/09/2018 - Re-sentencing hearing for Ramazzini pushed back
• 06/27/2018 - District Attorney works to keep Ramazzini in jail
• 10/17/2018 - Ramazzini re-sentencing hearing begins Tuesday
• 10/24/2018 - Psychologist’s testimony the focus on first day of Ramazzini re-sentencing hearing
• 10/24/2018 - Community shows support for Ingebretsen family ahead of Ramazzini re-sentencing hearing
• 10/25/2018 -Ramazzini’s fate in Judge’s hand Final arguments and sentencing to be held Friday
• 10/31/2018 - Judge upholds teenage killer’s original sentence (Newspaper Version)
• 02/13/2019 - Indivisible group seek clarity on prison reform laws
• 12/11/2019 - DA’s effort to keep killer in prison moves forward
• 02/19/2020 - DA’s right to sue California Parole Board upheld
• 10/28/2020 - DA’s office fights State Legislature in Ramazzini case
• 11/04/2020 - DA prevails in lawsuit against State of California

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Music by: Ingrid Witt, "Drama Drama Trauma",

Lloyd, Kent, and Hayley navigate through the election chaos and discuss local election results - although not final. The local election data used for this episode was current at the time of recording at 6 PM on Thursday, Nov. 5.

For Colusa County Election Results, visit: https://www.countyofcolusa.org/197/Elections



Music by: Deaf Election, "Rise Before Tomorrow", licensed through Epidemic Sound. 

It's Halloween and The Backpage crew celebrates in their own way.

Lloyd and Hayley are joined by Don Parsons of the Colusa County Veterans organization. The crew talks halloween plans, thanksgiving, election, and much more.

Don announces the upcoming Veterans Day Service, and upcoming golf tournament.

The Colusa County Veterans Day Service will be held, on Wednesday, November 11 at 1 PM in the Veterans Memorial Park in Colusa. The names of those honored with a brick will be read aloud. If you are interested in honoring your Colusa County veteran with a brick download this form. Bricks can be purchased in memoriam, or in honor of those who served or currently serving our country in the armed forces.

The Veterans Day Golf Tournament will be held on Wednesday, November 11, at 10 AM at the Colusa Golf Course. The event is a four person scramble, $100 per person (includes carts and green fees). Sponsorships available. Contact Joe Bowers (530) 845-1846

For information about Colusa Cemetery's Wreaths Across America, visit:
https://wreathsacrossamerica.org/pages/159899/overview/?relatedId=0

The opening mashup song is credited to @joebot.the.robot on Instagram.

Kent and Hayley decided they deserved a day off and to leave me alone to record the episode. They might regret this. 

Don't worry, there isn't another Backstreet Boys cover... I'll save that for my concert. 

This episode, Lloyd stands on his soapbox. These are his thoughts, and his opinions. He took great care to research and find some interesting topics from the greater Colusa County area. 

Don’t worry, he did the local headlines too. 

You've been warned, these topics may have an expression personal opinion, and Lloyd give his thoughts on the topics. The references to the topics are listed below in order of appearance:

1. Why American life went on as normal during the killer pandemic of 1969
2. New studies suggest there has been a 'sharp' drop in COVID-19 death rates
3. Experts Believe COVID-19 Is Likely to Become Endemic - Here's What That Means
4. COVID-19 may not be seasonal like the flu, study finds: 'Transmission has not slowed down during warm months'
5. The Idea for Lockdowns Started With a High School Science Project
6. The Untold Story of the Birth of Social Distancing
7. Targeted Social Distancing Designs for Pandemic Influenza
8. Idea for Pandemic Lockdowns Started With High School Science Project
9. Beverly Hills bans trick-or-treating to stem virus spread
10. Yolo County Halloween Guidance 2020
11. Dr. Fauci says his kids aren’t coming home for Thanksgiving as Americans ‘sacrifice’ holiday gatherings to stay safe from coronavirus
12. Dr. Fauci urges Americans to make sacrifices: ‘Thanksgiving is going to look very different this year’

To read the articles in the Oct. 21 edition of the Pioneer Review, click here.

To purchase a subscription to the Pioneer Review, click here.

Arbuckle native, Brandon Carlsen, 21, has announced he will be tossing his hat into the 2022 race for California Governor. 

Hayley is on a search for the Gold Crown Mermaid Starbucks Cup, and Lloyd can't seem to figure out how to record the podcast correctly this week.

On this week's episode of The Backpage Lloyd and Hayley discuss what experts think your Thanksgiving should look like, an unexpected convertible Tesla, political campaigns, and much more.

What's the tea? Here's the link to davidstea.com

Want to learn more about the Master Gardener's Centerpiece Workshop? Click here.

Ah, it's finally October. Welcome to the 10th level of Jumanji - what possibly could be  in store for us as we proceed through the month of horrors?

The Backpage crew recaps, debates, the debatest of debates known as the 2020 Presidential Debate. We recap some of our favorite moments, express our concerns and air our opinions on what was classified as the worst presidential debate in American history. 

Hayley found her way to Wienerschnitzel and found a new treat that wasn't pumpkin spice; and is plans an adventure to Mt. Everest. Lloyd made some edits to the website, and updated the merch store with some new holiday sweaters and custom items. More to come; and Kent is planning a yard sale... 

For links to the national news articles featured in this episode visit our website

Hayley had a plant emergency and we called in UC Master Gardener of Colusa County, Gerry Hernandez. Gerry gave Hayley some tips on repotting her plant. We even reached out to our listeners on Instagram and Gerry kindly provided some insight. 

To learn more information about he UC Master Gardeners of Colusa County visit their website at: http://cecolusa.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener or call (530) 458-0570

It's been a week. It's been a month. It's been a year. Hayley and Lloyd discuss halloween, thanksgiving, and the local headlines all while Kent is out fighting fires.  

California Wildfires have exploded, burning more than 3.1 million acres across the state. On this weeks episode of The Backpage, Kent is out fighting fires, while Hayley and Lloyd review national headlines, and entertainment news and review some of the local headlines and hot topics. 

The Backpage crew would like to express their gratitude to the men and women fighting fires across California and the nation. We hope for their safe return home soon.