A California parole board has elected to keep Gregory Powell, whose killing of officer Ian Campbell in 1963 was chronicled in Joseph Wambaugh's "The Onion Field," in prison, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Powell lost his 11th parole hearing Wednesday, following heavy opposition by law enforcement, led by the union that represents nearly 10,000 Los Angeles police officers.
Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith kidnapped Campbell and partner Karl Hettinger during a traffic stop in Hollywood and drove them to a field outside Bakersfield. Campbell was fatally shot, while Hettinger escaped by running four miles to a farmhouse.
Powell's parole hearing was scheduled for today. In a Jan. 21 letter, the Los Angeles Police Protective League called Powell a "vicious murderer who has not yet paid his debt to society."
