re: Californian court orders San Quentin prison population reduced by 50 percent

The new ruling came after Ivan Von Staich, a 64-year-old prisoner currently serving 17-years-to-life for second-degree murder, petitioned the court, according to the news service, which added that b oth he and his 65-year-old cell mate tested positive for the coronavirus while sharing a cell “so small that you can touch the walls with your hands.”

OC Weekly

He was released on Nov. 17, 1983, with orders to stay
away from
the couple, who were married by then. Around 1 a.m. on Dec. 8, 1983, the then-27-year-old arrived
at the Toppers' Santa Ana home, cut the outside telephone wires with
pliers and kicked open the front
door. Wearing gloves and armed with two hammers, he walked to the
master bedroom and struck Cynthia with the claw hammer before she ran to
the kitchen.

Robert, armed with a gun, fired at Von Staich, hitting him and
severing one of his fingers. But Von Staich managed to get the gun away
from Robert before repeatedly beating him with the hammer. While
Robert was lying face down on the ground, Von Staich fired the gun five
times at close range, hitting Mr. Topper in
the head, chest and neck, killing him.

Von Staich then ran to the kitchen looking for Cynthia. He pistol whipped her
and shot her in the uterus before running to a neighboring house to seek help for his
wounds. She spent months in a coma before coming out it. Having suffered several skull fractures, the former college student was forced to undergo two separate lobotomies that involved removing large portions of her brain. She was left afterward with the mental capacity of a 5th grader.