A lingering anomaly in state law is making some of the most violent criminals—murderers, kidnappers, arsonists and repeat child sexual offenders— eligible for parole far earlier than either the Legislature or the sentencing court intended. We need to act decisively to close this loophole that makes some of the worst offenders eligible for early release and puts our communities unnecessarily at risk.
A current Monroe County case, People v. Stanley Washington, is a chilling illustration of this loophole. After his conviction for beating a woman with a hammer and forcing her to perform a sex act, Washington served 14 years of his 8 1/3-to-25 sentence. While on parole, he brutally murdered another Rochester woman. The judge imposed the maximum sentence, 25-years-to-life, and told Washington that he wanted him to serve every day of that sentence. However, because the judge did not state on the record that the sentence was to be served consecutively to his prior sentence, Washington was credited with time-served on his prior crime. As a result, he came up for parole after serving only 11 years, not the 25 years intended by the court nor the 25-year minimum sentence required had he not committed the prior crime.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]