A murderer responsible for two lives has been released on parole early under California’s parole law. However, less than a year after his release, he committed another brutal murder, this time of his girlfriend.
Last Friday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced that 55-year-old convict Darryl Lamar Collins has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the 2021 murder of his girlfriend, Fatima Johnson. Johnson’s body was found bound at the wrists and ankles, with her mouth gagged, in Collins’ home in South Los Angeles.
Fatima, the victim, was a mother of six and grandmother of eight. She worked at a nursing home before her death and was pursuing a nursing license.
The local prosecutor’s office revealed the heinous details of the case in a press release, stating, “She died of asphyxiation, likely due to pressure on her neck and obstruction of her mouth and nose. Her wrists and ankles were tightly bound with shoelaces and duct tape, her mouth was stuffed with a bra, and her mouth and nose were covered with duct tape.”
Within hours of the crime, Collins pawned two necklaces belonging to Fatima and sold one of her cars to purchase drugs.
This was not Collins’ first conviction for murder. His criminal record dates back to 1995. Hochman pointed out, “This case exposes a reality: what terrible consequences arise when a violent offender with a history of extreme violence is released from prison early.”
According to official reports, Collins (born on October 2, 1970) had committed two murders as early as 1995.
In the first case on September 17, 1995, Collins shot and killed 28-year-old car owner Derrick Reese after a carjacking incident.
Just 11 days later, he entered a restaurant in Inglewood, Los Angeles, brandishing a gun and demanding money from 44-year-old cashier Thomas Weiss. When his demand was refused, Collins shot Weiss in the face, resulting in his death. Both victims had no prior acquaintance with Collins.
On January 15, 1998, Collins was convicted of the two murders and sentenced to “25 years to life imprisonment,” totaling between “50 years to life imprisonment.”
Despite his sentence, how was Collins able to commit another homicide? Prosecutors cited this case as a failure of the “Youthful Offender Parole Act” passed in 2017 – the act expanded the age range for parole eligibility, directly leading to Collins’ early release.
California has amended laws regarding “life imprisonment without parole” for minors in the past.
One such amendment states that individuals convicted of a “primary offense” committed before the age of 18 and sentenced to “life imprisonment without parole” can participate in a “Youthful Offender Parole Hearing” to apply for parole after serving 25 years.
Subsequently, California expanded the age range for “Youthful Offender Parole Eligibility” multiple times, starting in 2016 for individuals under 23, and in 2017, until the age of 25.
The prosecutor’s office highlighted that Collins, who committed the murders at the age of 24 in 1995, was released early after serving 25 years in 2020 under the 2017 “Youthful Offender” parole provision, effectively serving only half of his sentence.
Hochman stated in the press release that just 364 days after his release, Collins murdered his girlfriend. If the state legislature had not raised the age limit for “Youthful Offender” parole from under 23 to 25 in 2017, “Collins should have continued serving his sentence and not returned to the streets, thus preventing him from irrationally and cruelly taking another innocent life.”
“Today’s judgment is not only for punishment but also to protect the public from this antisocial individual, ensuring he can never regain his freedom,” Hochman concluded.