Shajia Ayobi is an Afghan-born California woman serving 26 years to life for arranging the 2011 murder of her husband, Ghulam Ayobi, after more than 17 years of abuse. California’s parole board found her suitable for release in January 2025 and the governor’s office declined to reverse the decision, but she remains at the Central California Women’s Facility because of a separate court ruling that blocks the state from using good-behavior credits to advance release dates for inmates with life sentences.1The New York Times. The Woman Who Was Granted Parole but Not Released
The 2011 Killing in Sacramento
On the night of December 17, 2011, Ghulam Ayobi was shot three times in the head at point-blank range in the family minivan as the couple drove home from a dinner party in Sacramento. Shajia called police and told detectives that two men had been hiding in the backseat, shot her husband, forced her to drive, and then fled.2CaseMine. People v. Clark, C0770363FOX40. Wife Found Guilty in Staged Carjacking Death of Husband
Investigators found that her account did not match the physical evidence. The next morning, a maintenance worker discovered a black canvas bag in a dumpster at a nearby apartment complex containing a .32-caliber semiautomatic pistol, two knives, and Ghulam’s wallet. Ballistics confirmed the pistol was the murder weapon.2CaseMine. People v. Clark, C077036
Shajia eventually testified that she had hired a classmate, Jake Clark, to kill her husband for $10,500: a $500 down payment and $10,000 upon completion. She withdrew $5,000 in late November 2011 and another $5,000 on December 16, the day before the killing, and gave Clark the bag containing the gun and knives.2CaseMine. People v. Clark, C077036 Clark was tried separately, convicted of first-degree murder in 2014, and sentenced to 28 years to life.4ABC10. Man Hired by Sacramento Woman to Kill Husband Sentenced
A Lifetime of Abuse
Shajia Ayobi was born in 1966 in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, one of eleven children. She watched her father beat her mother from the age of four. At twelve, she lived through the Soviet invasion, which brought school bombings, the killing of neighbors, and personal assault by the Taliban into her daily life. She immigrated to California at seventeen.5vLex. People v. Ayobi, C074035
Her first marriage, an arranged one, included coerced abortions and physical abuse and ended in divorce. To blunt the cultural shame of that divorce, she married Ghulam Ayobi after knowing him for two hours. The couple raised four children in Sacramento.5vLex. People v. Ayobi, C074035
Evidence at trial established that Ghulam physically and emotionally abused Shajia for more than 17 years. In the summer of 2010, he threatened her with a gun, which prompted her to buy her own firearm. When he was away, he made repeated threatening phone calls. When he was home, his behavior grew erratic: he carved Farsi letters into his own body and attacked the family computer with an axe while their son was using it. He also stalked Shajia and threatened the couple’s son.5vLex. People v. Ayobi, C0740351The New York Times. The Woman Who Was Granted Parole but Not Released
Conviction and Sentence
On May 1, 2013, a Sacramento jury convicted Shajia Ayobi of first-degree murder under California Penal Code § 187. The jury found a sentencing enhancement for being armed but did not find that she personally used or fired the firearm, treating her as the person who orchestrated the killing rather than the shooter. She was sentenced to 26 years to life: 25 years to life for the murder plus one year for the arming enhancement.5vLex. People v. Ayobi, C0740356CBS News Sacramento. Sacramento Woman Found Guilty in Husband’s Death
Her defense was built on “imperfect self-defense,” the argument that her cumulative trauma gave her an actual, if objectively unreasonable, belief that she had to protect herself and her children. Forensic psychologist Dr. Rahn Minagawa testified that she suffered from “complex trauma disorder” stemming from war, childhood domestic violence, and sustained abuse in both marriages, with symptoms including hypervigilance, dissociation, and distorted threat perception. The California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District affirmed her conviction on May 4, 2015, rejecting her argument that trial counsel’s choice not to request jury instructions on intimate partner battering amounted to ineffective assistance.5vLex. People v. Ayobi, C074035
Why She’s Still in Prison After Being Granted Parole
Over more than a decade inside, Ayobi became what prison officials considered a model inmate. She ran substance abuse classes, attended chapel, earned good-behavior credits, and was assigned to the honor dorm at the Central California Women’s Facility.1The New York Times. The Woman Who Was Granted Parole but Not Released
In January 2025, the California Board of Parole Hearings found her suitable for release. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office reviewed the grant and did not reverse it. She was assigned a parole officer in San Francisco and secured housing through a nonprofit. By every procedural measure, she was ready to walk out after 14 years. She did not.1The New York Times. The Woman Who Was Granted Parole but Not Released
Her release was blocked by litigation unrelated to her case. In 2022, the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF) sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) over the department’s practice of using Proposition 57 good-behavior credits to advance the “minimum eligible parole date” for inmates serving indeterminate life sentences. Proposition 57, approved by California voters in 2016, gave CDCR broad authority to award credits for good conduct and program participation.7Davis Vanguard. Prop 57 Rehabilitation Credits Impact
In December 2023, the Sacramento County Superior Court sided with CJLF, ruling that Penal Code § 3046 prohibits using such credits to reduce parole eligibility dates for indeterminate sentences. While CDCR appealed, the court imposed a partial stay: parole hearings could continue, but no one whose eligibility depended on those credits could actually be released.8CDCR Board of Parole Hearings. Fact Sheet – CJLF Litigation Impact to Release Dates9Prison Legal News. CDCR May No Longer Use Sentence Credits to Advance Parole Eligibility10Prison Law Office. Proposition 57 Credits Advocacy
Ayobi is far from alone. As of February 2025, the Board of Parole Hearings reported 131 inmates with final parole grants whose releases were delayed by the litigation, with the number growing by roughly 14 to 15 people per month.11Curb Prison Spending. AB 622 Community FAQ Heidi Rummel, director of the Post-Conviction Justice Project at the USC Gould School of Law, warned that if the appellate ruling stands, affected individuals could be forced to surrender years of accumulated credits. “People will lose years,” she said.1The New York Times. The Woman Who Was Granted Parole but Not Released
Ayobi described the situation in a January 2026 New York Times opinion piece as “psychological torture.” “How could a person serve her time, pay her debt to society, have all relevant parties agree to grant her freedom and then be locked up indefinitely?” she asked.1The New York Times. The Woman Who Was Granted Parole but Not Released She told the Davis Vanguard that the knowledge that a minor infraction could jeopardize her release was “devastating.”7Davis Vanguard. Prop 57 Rehabilitation Credits Impact
What Could Change Her Situation
Three paths could move Ayobi’s case. The first is the California Supreme Court, which could reverse the appellate ruling in CJLF v. CDCR, though resolution could take another year or more.10Prison Law Office. Proposition 57 Credits Advocacy
The second is legislation. Assemblymember Ash Kalra introduced AB 622, “The Rehabilitation Recognition Act,” which would codify CDCR’s authority to apply Proposition 57 credits to parole eligibility dates for inmates with life sentences. The bill is supported by a coalition that includes Initiate Justice, the Ella Baker Center, and USC’s Post-Conviction Justice Project.11Curb Prison Spending. AB 622 Community FAQ12Bolts Magazine. California Justice for Survivors Bill13CalMatters. Suspense File September Newsletter
The third is executive clemency from the governor. With legislative avenues stalled, individual clemency petitions remain the primary alternative for survivors in Ayobi’s position. Newsom has generally resisted granting clemency for crimes classified as serious or violent.14The Guardian. California Prisons Elderly Women Clemency Coronavirus For now, Ayobi remains at the Central California Women’s Facility, granted parole, cleared by the governor’s office, assigned a parole officer, and unable to leave.1The New York Times. The Woman Who Was Granted Parole but Not Released