Mass. Parole Board Becoming More “Methodical”, Careful
In the wake of the murder of police officer John “Jack” Maguire by a parolee, the heat is on the state’s parole board and people are taking a long, hard look at who is released on parole and whether they deserve to be in the community.
According to the Boston Herald, one in three violent parolees have violated the terms of their parole. There is a 37% violation rate for parolees that were sentenced to life in prison and this is causing quite a storm among lawmakers and citizens alike.
While the murder of a police officer is truly tragic and this is one case where perhaps the parole board should have known better than to free someone, other examples as laid out by the Boston Herald are far less extreme. One case is of a man who was originally convicted of rape and kidnapping; he violated parole by possessing a knife and pornography. Another violator had his parole revoked after his wife reported he was having an affair and the board feared for her safety, no legal violation was committed.
It’s understandable that the board now will err on the side of being more “safe than sorry” in hopes of preventing another tragedy. But, the truth is, they simply have no way of knowing who will reoffend or how they will do it.
Following the murder of officer Maguire, five parole board members were fired and a new chairman was named. It isn’t clear if these are the five that voted to parole the killer, but more than likely this is the case. Governor Patrick had to reassure the public that something was being done, and this is how he did that.
Under the new chairman, no lifers have been paroled. But, it’s only a matter of time. They heard pleas from 104 this year and voted to release 11, who are currently in transition.
Among the changes made to the parole process are the lengthening of parole hearings, which now take three hours as opposed to one—allowing the board to gather more information on which to base their decision. Also, board members have attended 25 new training sessions and are now required to put their names on their votes, assumingly so they can be held responsible if another tragedy occurs.
Wall says, “Our focus is on evaluating inmates to make sure they work their way out of prison through meaningful programs.” And while this goal is positive and well stated, it also seems like the chairman is ensuring that someone will be available to blame if a parolee crosses the line again.
There is no way to know for certain who will succeed within the community, whether on parole or probation. But the state does their best to limit those who have access to such community options.
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