The state parole board has granted parole to a former gang leader convicted in Kern County.

Ricky Black was a member of the street gang Nazi Low Riders and was sentenced to 75 years to life for ordering a fatal stabbing in September 1999.

Authorities say the victim, T.J. Taylor, was stabbed at a park by a member of the gang in a killing ordered by Black.

Black also threatened another man with a meat cleaver in 2000.

The parole board approved his release on April 2, saying he no longer posses a threat.

Black became eligible for parole under Proposition 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016, which now classifies his crimes as non-violent.

Prosecutors say the law ignores public safety and the severity of Black’s criminal record.