Doyle's Parole Chair, Who Let Cop Killers Free, Resigns
Leonard Wells, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle's hand picked chair of the Parole Commission, has resigned after letting cop killers go free.
Doyle hopes this puts the issue to rest. But you can't undo a screw up this big.Wells, who served as a Milwaukee police officer for 27 years, has been the subject of recent criticism for approving the parole of two men convicted in the 1975 slaying of off-duty Milwaukee Police Officer Dennis Lee Obradovich.
Wells has said the decisions to set the men free were difficult for him, but that he had to use the same criteria when considering their parole applications that he has used when considering parole for any murderer convicted before truth-in-sentencing legislation took effect in 2000.
Factors include the length of time served, behavior, age and completion of prison programs. There is no majority vote, and Wells could have either accepted or rejected recommendations.
He said the Obradovich case has made him realize how many prisoners who have killed police in the 1970s are coming up for review, including three this year alone.
Gov. Jim Doyle appointed Wells, whose wife is a member of the Milwaukee Police Department, chairman of the Parole Commission in 2003.
Wells' action directly reflects the criminal justice policies of the governor. And all the Dems who remained silent should feel a tremendous amount of shame.
3 Comments:
Maybe an ex-cop could have brought a perspective worthy of respect. His job was to apply the law, not make it up.
They were in prison 31 years. If you're ever going to let a murderor out of prison it's bound to happen. Unless kiling an off duty police officer is going to be different than say killing me. But police already have plenty of protection, I see no reason to elevate them above other people. Maybe if they're in uniform, because you like to protect them while they're doing their job as much as you can, but not off.
If you kill guy #1 you get prison and can maybe get off with little notice after a decade or two, but guy #2 will give you mandatory life in prison with no parole? It doesn't make sense.
As much as I don't like Doyle, or cop killers, if someone does something stupid when they're 20 and someone ends up dead I don't believe they should have to die in prison. I'm not against it, but I don't believe it should be mandatory.
Also, the guys job is to determine whether or not people meet the qualifications of parole. And I'm glad he didn't deny it because it was an election year and he didn't want to cause a scene.
The length of sentence and possibility of parole were decided 30 years ago. This guy is just doing his job. If we can say he hasn't meet the standards and shouldn't be paroled then fine. Parole doesn't mean he didn't do something bad, it just means he's paid the price and is done.
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