In Connecticut, the Board of Pardons and Paroles includes a member - TopicsExpress



          

In Connecticut, the Board of Pardons and Paroles includes a member who spent nearly half of his life in prison before he was exonerated in 2009. Kenneth F. Ireland was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder in 1989 and was incarcerated from the age of 18 until he was 39. Then, in 2009, DNA testing performed at the insistence of the Connecticut Innocence Project exonerated him and identified the real culprit. “I’ve been on the inside, and I understand the programs, the issues confronting the inmates,” he said. Nominated in October by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Mr. Ireland is now serving on the two-member parole board provisionally, along with four other nominees, until state legislators vote on the appointments next year. A recent hearing served as Mr. Ireland’s first test, and he spent hours poring over each case file before joining Robert A. Murphy, a retired agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who was the panel’s second member. The preparation showed. “What was going on in your life that made you relapse?” Mr. Ireland pressed John Rivera, a 35-year-old Hartford man who had been dragged back into the system as a result of a failed drug test. “Help me understand.” Those three words alone suggested how far from rote Mr. Ireland’s input was likely to be. Read the rest of Mr. Irelands story at the link.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 12:08:01 +0000

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