PA's Parole System Scandal: Fingers Point To Rendell

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Fingers Point To Rendell
By Michael P. Tremoglie, The Bulletin
10/07/2008

Critics of Pennsylvania's parole system are saying it is dysfunctional to the point of being scandalous - and fingers are pointing at Gov. Ed Rendell.

"We have carnage on the streets from violent offenders who should have been in prison. Instead of addressing the problem and keeping the streets safe, it appears that Pennsylvania may have put in an "express lane" for parole in our state," said John McGrody, vice president of Philadelphia's local Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police.

After Sgt. Patrick McDonald's killing, the FOP's phone lines lit up with calls from parole officers, all stating that Gov. Rendell has instituted a policy of letting criminals loose - one intended to reduce budget expenditures for prisons.

"The governor and the governor alone is responsible for ordering Catherine McVey to empty the prisons and not to send parolees back to prison for technical parole violations," a parole officer who wished to remain anonymous wrote in an e-mail to The Bulletin. "These parolees are even picking up new charges while they are being supervised on parole and still not sent back to prison. ... They are being kept on the street pending the outcome of the new criminal charges. Now tell me if that isn't a recipe for disaster."

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