Gregory D. Lee

It didn’t surprise me to read that convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner III, the man accused of murdering 17-year old Chelsea King of San Diego County, violated state parole six times after his release from prison for a sex crime conviction, the last time in 2008.

And don't release him either.

Unbelievably, he never went back to prison.

The state parole board had six opportunities to put this violent sexual predator back in prison where he belongs, but instead, it abandoned its duty to protect the public and gave this guy another free pass. If the charges are true, Gardner, while on parole, murdered this honor roll student earlier this year, and there is evidence he assaulted a woman in the same area in December.

Knowing there was another missing 14-year old from the area, Amber Dubois, who shared similar physical traits with Chelsea, sheriff’s detectives searched the area where Chelsea’s presumed body was found, and eventually found her remains. None of these tragedies would have occurred if Gardner had remained in prison.

The next time you read your local newspaper, count the number of people arrested who were on parole at the time of their arrest. You might be amazed. Many times the police find these ex-cons in possession of drugs, guns or both.

Within the last year, two parolees in Washington state and California, in two incidents, murdered eight police officers before police killed them. How much more carnage must happen before states decide that parole simply does not work? It is impossible for parole board members to read the minds of prisoners that come before them seeking an early release. They cannot predict if someone will commit other crimes or violate the terms of parole. Even when mental health professionals and other experts strenuously recommend not paroling a particular prisoner, the board will sometimes ignore their recommendations, or by law, release the prisoner because he or she has served a certain percentage of the original sentence.

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According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, there are 110,859 parolees in the state. Between 65 percent and 70 percent of all state prisoners released from prison either violate the conditions of their parole or commit new crimes. This means that the parole board gets it wrong 65-to-70 percent of the time. In 2006, 68,000 parolees were returned to prison for violations of their imposed conditions of parole. That’s a potential 68,000 trials, with all the related expenses involved, and possibly as many crimes that could have been prevented in just one year.

In 1987, the federal government abandoned parole and held federal law breakers accountable for their actions. States need to do the same thing. Ending parole and making child molesters, robbers, burglars, rapists and conmen serve their full sentences not only prevents these predators from victimizing others, it also saves a significant amount of tax money. In light of scarce tax revenues, maybe states will seriously consider ending this practice. Even though keeping these monsters in prison longer will obviously cost more, in the long run, not having to reintroduce them into the criminal justice system as often will ultimately save money. It will also save grief for countless future victims and their families, lower the crime rate, restore public confidence in our justice system and enhance the quality of life for law-abiding citizens.

Personally, I’m tired of seeing Charles Manson on television news every three years sitting in front of a parole board that is considering releasing him. Each time, prosecutors, friends and relatives of his victims have to appear before the same board to remind it why he should remain in prison. They have to needlessly relive the horror of his crimes and will never have closure until he finally dies or they know that he will spend the rest of his life in prison because the practice of parole has ended.

How many more people will become victims until state governments realize that keeping prisoners in prison lowers the crime rate every time it’s tried?

Gregory D. Lee is a nationally syndicated columnist for www.NorthStarNational.com. You can reach him through his website: www.gregorydlee.com. Join his blog at: www.gregorydlee.blogspot.com.

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