|
|
| Penn. Board Rejects Parole for Convicted Murderer at Center of Lengthy Court Fight |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/05/2003 |
|
Calling him an ''unrepentant, dangerous sexual offender,'' the state parole board rejected another appeal for release by a 75-year-old murder convict who remains imprisoned even though his life sentence was commuted in 1995. The decision, issued last week, marks the fourth time the state has denied parole for Louis Mickens-Thomas, a cobbler sentenced for the 1964 rape and murder of 12-year-old Edith Connor, whose battered body was found in an alley behind Mickens-Thomas' shop. For decades, Mickens-Thomas has insisted that he is innocent. The decision of the Board of Probation and Parole was a setback for activists fighting on behalf of prisoners they believe are innocent. In February, activists appeared to have won a key victory when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the parole board had treated Mickens-Thomas unfairly in earlier considerations and ordered it to reconsider his case within 45 days. Shortly before the deadline expired May 25, the board sent Mickens-Thomas a scathing seven-page memo saying it had again denied him parole, in part because he had refused to admit guilt. ''Your anger and resentment toward women was evident in your recent interview,'' the board said. ''You have consistently refused to accept responsibility for your crimes and shown no remorse.'' Leonard Sosnov, Mickens-Thomas' attorney, said he would appeal again. Jim McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries, the New Jersey group fighting to free Mickens-Thomas, said that his claim of innocence was no surprise. ''For 40 years he has been telling anyone who is interested that he is innocent, and he isn't going to change that, even if it means spending the rest of his life in prison,'' McCloskey said. His original conviction was overturned after the prosecution's star witness, a forensic technician, was revealed to have falsified her academic credentials. Mickens-Thomas was convicted again after a retrial in 1969. In 1995, during his last days in office, Gov. Robert Casey shortened Mickens-Thomas' term after reviewing recommendations by the Board of Pardons and Commutation. Under that decision, Mickens-Thomas was to have gone free in mid-1996. But Casey's successor, Tom Ridge, who rode into office on a get-tough-on-crime platform, enacted stricter parole rules and the Board of Probation and Parole repeatedly refused all appeals for release. Mickens-Thomas is the only person in Pennsylvania history to remain in prison after a governor commuted his life sentence, his attorney said. Last year, a federal judge ruled that the state had punished Mickens-Thomas retroactively and thus violated his constitutional rights. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, ordering the latest parole hearing for Mickens-Thomas. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think