Parole What is it Good For?

For a few years now we have all seen in the news several reports and stories of men and women who have been paroled, clemency, or earned "time off for good behavior" who subsequently committed a serious crime, murder, rape, pedophilia, or some other serious crime.

Well what brings this subject, for me anyway, to the forefront is the series Unsolved Mysteries. It seems that ever episode I watch at least one criminal on there has gotten parole or was paroled only after a few years served, but the one that really did it for me this time is the case of  James Donald King.


Let me lay out the story for you, he was first sent to prison for the murder of his first wife in 1967, he shot her at close range in the chest with a shotgun or rifle I can't find which one it was at the moment. He pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was given a life sentence. Oh, but the store only get better, after serving that sentence for four years he made an escape, while he was in a chain gang in 1971, apparently with out the chain, he escaped and was on the run for nine years until he was recaptured where he was working as a janitor in Boston, he was returned to prison in North Carolina in 1980. This is where things go to an incredibly stupid level, in 1983 after serving another two years the parole board made an incredibly bone headed decision they used the time while he was a fugitive as a reason to parole him. Why you might be asking? Well in their words he was "a productive and law abiding citizen" while out as a fugitive from the law, amazing thought process how can someone be a law abiding citizen while out as a fugitive from the law. Now this happened some thirty years ago but those words sound like something I hear from some of the progressives and criminal defenders today. So only served a total of six years for brutally killing his first wife and he got to have a nine year break in between his sentence. By the way the prosecutors and police from the case objected to this but the parole board ignored them, I guess the parole board figured they knew nothing about murderers. Ah but if I was only finished it only gets better, if you can call it that, less then a year after his release he married his second wife, eventually she moved out when she grew tired of the abuse he gave her , three months after that she was dead, records date the offense to 09/11/1988, shot five times, and James Donald King was on the run again. He was finally captured in 1997, tried and convicted of first degree murder and given the death penalty.

I wish I could say it ends there but he recently wanted a new trial for the the murder of his second wife, he argues in part that his lawyers provided ineffective assistance during the penalty phase of his 1998 trial. He is also arguing that the FBI provided faulty forensic evidence. Fortunately a Superior Court judge denied his request for a new trial.

Unfortunately there are too many of these cases of parolees who should never have been released who go on to commit additional heinous crimes. I have several more names I could list including  Maurice Clemmon from only a few months ago that Mike Huckabee gave clemency to only to go on to kill four police officers.

As a Christian I believe in for forgiveness and redemption, but it must also be tempered with wisdom and common sense to judge these individuals if they are ready to be put back in to civil society.

Also if you could here is another parolee/escapee, William Jordan who is still on the run, he has killed twice first the father of two James Rouse Jr. and after his parole, see the pattern here, his girlfriend. Read more here and see the pictures of him as well as the computer aged picture of him, William Junior Jordan.


Solomon.

P.S. I would like to get some comments and thoughts on the issue of parole and clemency.