District attorneys rightfully get scrutinized on a daily basis as it is their job to keep the public safe by prosecuting those accused of violent crimes and ensuring the guilty ones go to jail.
However, the best district attorneys, judges and juries can be stymied by an unelected, somewhat shadowy group known as the Parole Board.
Most engaged citizens can name their district attorney and at least one Superior Court judge, but they would be hard pressed to name one member of the Parole Board, even though that board has the power to return violent criminals to the street, something board members are doing more and more frequently.
Just this past week, police apprehended 26-year-old Davante Parks who served a little over half of his 12-year sentence for shooting a woman five times in 2016. Mere weeks after he was released, Parks turned around and killed his girlfriend, Laquana “Quana” Lang, in front of her two children.
The public is not privy to the why this unelected board chose to turn Parks back out on the streets because, while the meetings are advertised as “open,” most discussion and voting occurs in executive session.
Then, there is the case of serial rapist Willie Johnson who came up for parole unbeknownst to the public or his victims. In fact, were it not for the letter writing campaign launched by Columbia County District Attorney Bobby Christine, Johnson could have walked free, despite his sentence of five consecutive life-in-prison terms plus 40 years.
To date, the Parole Board has not made a decision on the matter, despite the public outcry resulting from Christine’s warning.
The entire mentality that all criminals are victims themselves is absurd. Some may be, but others are jut need to be locked away for the public’s safety. Further, forcing the real victims to show up to parole hearings and then wait in limbo causes them have to relive the crime over and over.
Some people can be reformed and return as productive members of society, but violent criminals are almost never a part of that demographic.
It is time for the state legislature to take up the matter of parole reform and end judge and jury nullification by committee.
