Jury finds prison inmate too dangerous for release, orders him kept at Atascadero State Hospital
Man with history of violence tied to mental illness committed for treatment instead of parole
– A San Luis Obispo County jury has found that William Cloward, 39, originally of Los Angeles County, meets the criteria of an offender with a mental health disorder and will remain at Atascadero State Hospital instead of being released on parole, District Attorney Dan Dow announced Tuesday.
The jury returned its unanimous finding Oct. 26 after a three-day trial in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court before Judge Erin M. Childs. The court then denied Cloward’s petition for release and ordered him committed to the Department of State Hospitals for treatment.
Evidence at trial showed a long history of violence connected to Cloward’s mental illness, according to the district attorney. He was convicted of attempted robbery in Los Angeles County in 2008 and sent to prison. While on parole in 2009, he recklessly set fire to his parents’ home and was sentenced to six years in prison. In prison, he committed assault and battery by a prisoner, including stabbing a sleeping cellmate in the eye with a pencil. He was admitted to Atascadero State Hospital as an offender with a mental health disorder in 2025.
California’s Offender with a Mental Health Disorder law applies to people sentenced to state prison for serious or violent crimes whose severe mental disorder was a cause of or aggravating factor in their crimes. If the disorder is not in remission and makes them a substantial danger to others when they are due for parole, they may be required to receive treatment in a secure state hospital. The commitment lasts one year and may be challenged each year until the parole period ends. The law is civil, not criminal.
“Cases like this are different from a criminal prosecution, but they are just as important to public safety,” Dow said. “No new crime is being charged. The question is whether a person who served a prison sentence for a serious crime is still so mentally ill and dangerous that release would put the public at risk.”
