Inmates Taken Off Pre-Release Programs After Officer Shooting
WOBURN (CBS) – The state's parole system is under fire after a Woburn police officer was allegedly shot to death by a parolee the day after Christmas.
Since that killing, the Department of Corrections has ordered seven "second-degree lifers" out of pre-release programs and back into the general prison population in higher security facilities.
Some of those inmates were working in the community and paying rent at half-way houses.
WBZ News Radio's Lana Jones reports.
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Leslie Walker of the Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services knows at least one of the inmates, and said the killing of Officer John Maguire should not be used to further punish others who have served their time.
"I understand that it's an absolutely horrible crime," said Walker. "But, I've seen no reporting about the hundreds of other people the parole board releases every year, thousands who don't commit any crimes, who are paying taxes and living life and being parents and being responsible like the rest of us."
Walker expects the inmates to be released on schedule without the benefit of the pre-release transition.
