Below is a link to an article suggesting that Massachusetts state budget problems - and, by extension, budget problems everywhere else - are encouraging maximum security prisons to grant parole to violent criminals prematurely. The author cites the case of Domenic Cennelli, the recently paroled career criminal who shot a policeman to death at a Woburn mall last Christmas. If that case weren't horrific enough, there is always the not-so-comic relief of some nut-bag named Raymond Wallace who was barely out of jail 18 months before he went all gonzo. A "heavily armed" Wallace, disguised like the armored car robbers in
The Town (does that mean he was dressed like a nun?) robbed, of all things, a Salem pet supply store last St. Patrick's Day. Outside of the fact that this dude was clearly (and quite pathetically) aiming to be Top Irish Criminal of The Month, he very likely should never have been released to be begin with. As for statistics, it definitely seems that early releases for violent offenders have escalated in direct proportion to the worsening of the economy. While in 2007 only 27 were let out onto the streets before they served their full sentences, 49 were released early in 2008, 48 in 2009, and 51 in 2010. What this means is that, at a time when more and more people are unemployed or underemployed and possibly becoming desperate enough to commit crimes, more of those who have already been convicted of such crimes are flowing back onto the streets. One can imagine the more experienced criminals crowding out the newcomers and taking up all the, ahem, robbery "opportunities" for themselves. Even "breaking bad" won't catch you a break these days, I guess. When you have a burgeoning labor surplus even in the world of crime, that will only make the desperate more desperate and it really will be time to watch your back - and your bank account, if you still have one.
I-Team: More Violent Criminals Getting Parole (CBS Boston)
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