[1] Soon after being paroled from prison in 2006, he became rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in San Francisco.
He has been a public spokesman for prisoners' rights, testifying in favor of parole for juvenile offenders[2] and supporting prisoner-victim reconciliation programs.
He had been nominated to the United States Air Force Academy by Senator Barry Goldwater.
On August 3, 1985, Tramel participated in the fatal stabbing of a 29-year-old homeless man in a park in Santa Barbara, mistaking his identity for that of a rival gang member.
[8] Immediately upon his parole, Tramel became an assistant pastor at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Berkeley, California.