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| Ohio inmate loses his parole after asking to stay extra day |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/17/2003 |
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Willie Chapman was so devoted to Promise Keepers that he asked to stay an extra day in prison to attend an August rally by the Christian men's group. His wish was granted - a decision that turned out to be costly for the 36-year-old. News about Chapman's unusual request alerted the children of the woman he murdered about his impending parole, and they fought his release. The Ohio Parole Board on Tuesday reversed itself and voted to postpone Chapman's release from Marion Correctional Institution until May 1, 2006, at the earliest. 'I'm basically devastated,' Chapman said after learning of the decision. Chapman, in prison for killing his wife, said he doesn't regret asking to stay in prison long enough to participate in the Aug. 12 religious rally. 'I did that for God, and I could never regret that,' he said. 'I'm going to keep my faith. I'm not going to give up.' The parole board, which initially had decided to free Chapman in August, reversed course after the children of the woman Chapman stabbed to death in 1988 came forward - for the first time - to fight his release. Robert, Michael and Renaldo Harrell, who were 20, 19 and 17, respectively, when the crime occurred, said they had no idea Chapman was going to be released until they saw news reports about his request to stay in prison a day longer than required. 'That man has not changed,' Robert Harrell told the parole board at Tuesday's hearing. 'He's a con artist.' Chapman, who was married to Deborah Chapman when he killed her in her Columbus apartment, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to six to 25 years in prison. After Chapman became eligible for release, the parole board denied his bid for freedom five times. When the panel finally approved the parole request and scheduled his release for Aug. 11, the victim's sons received no notification. Prison officials said Tuesday that the Harrells were too young to be placed on the state's release-notification list when Chapman was sentenced. They said an aunt received word, but she apparently didn't pass along the information. After the children complained, the parole board put Chapman's release on hold until it could take up the matter Tuesday. 'I ask, as you review this, don't think about the time he has done,' Renaldo Harrell told the board. 'Look at the lives he impacted.' Chapman, who became involved in Promise Keepers two years ago, said he intends to move to Cleveland and become a preacher after he's released. He said the extra time in prison will give him an opportunity to do more work 'on the inside.' |
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