Bill would make some older inmates convicted of 1st-degree murder eligible for parole
By Adam Sexton
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CONCORD, New Hampshire (WMUR) — Some convicted first-degree murderers in New Hampshire’s prison system could get a chance at freedom under a new bill being drafted at the State House.
The bill would create a pathway to grant them eligibility for parole.
The list of first-degree murderers in New Hampshire is not long, and it includes some notorious figures. The sentence for first-degree murder is life without the possibility of parole, but a bill being drafted at the State House aims to change that, giving parole eligibility to certain first-degree murder convicts.
State Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth, said his bill would make parole an option if the convict is 60 years of age or older and served more than 25 years in prison with no disciplinary violations in the past 10 years.
It would not apply to capital murder convicts or inmates serving consecutive sentences for multiple crimes.
“This is not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Meuse said. “What this will do is it will simply make these folks eligible for a parole hearing.”
Meuse said the legislation would likely apply to inmates like 76-year-old Gary Place, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1984.
Pamela Smart will turn 60 in three years and could potentially become eligible under the bill.
Former Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky is an advocate for making the change to state law.
“Very occasionally, there are cases that, after a very long passage of time, deserve a second look by Parole Board members competent to balance the competing interests of society, victims, offenders and taxpayers, who foot the bill to incarcerate very elderly offenders,” Volinsky said.
Meuse said he has not made a final decision on whether to bring the bill forward. Some Republicans on the House Criminal Justice Committee said they have serious concerns.
“I think the people that have been convicted of a crime to this degree have clearly done something so heinous that, given the families and the victims involved, I would have to say that the system is working perfectly fine,” said state Rep. Jennifer Rhodes.
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