A majority of state Board of Pardon and Paroles members, who are appointed by the governor, are coming under increased fire for permissiveness as well as secrecy, the latest example occurring in Chatham County.
Prosecutors there are furious over the parole of a Savannah criminal sentenced to 14 concurrent life prison terms plus 115 years for a 1993 armed robbery. The release of Christopher Lashaw Murray came just months after the state pardons and paroles panel canceled his scheduled August release because of opposition from District Attorney Meg Heap.
Heap and her chief assistant Greg McConnell, as quoted by the Savannah Morning News, said the other day that not only was Murray a member of the notorious Ricky Jivens drug gang that spread terror within the local community but he also had several convictions for crimes committed while in state prisons.
The district attorney also points out that, based on the severity of the sentence by Chatham County Superior Court Judge Michael Karpf, the judge “did not want this defendant to get out of jail.”
“These are the most violent offenders,” Heap said, saying that she doesn’t understand the panel’s permissiveness and cannot get an answer for it. “They considered our objections in August, but two months later they paroled him again.”
Pardon and Paroles Board spokesman Steve Hayes responded with a terse statement: “The board decided to proceed with its previous decision to grant parole after reviewing all case information, including information received since canceling a release date earlier this year.”
