by Jen Rehill
Public Radio Capitol News, serving Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pa. (PRCN, December 1, 2008) – Governor Rendell has lifted a ban on paroling violent prisoners from Pennsylvania prisons Monday following a new report on this system. Rendell imposed the moratorium for all prisoners in September, after parolee killed a Philadelphia police officer.
The report from the head of Temple University’s Criminal Justice Department, John Goldkamp, recommended using several measures to identify those prisoners most likely to commit violent crimes upon release from prison.
“So we could pick out the worst of the worst, in a sense, not to be unkind, and differentiate them from so-called normal offenders who are doing medium to short sentences that may have some violence in their record somewhere.”
Goldkamp says overall the system has good safeguards in place, and denies parole to about 50 percent of violent offenders.
For those approved for release, Goldkamp recommends at least 90 days of close supervision and a mandatory curfew, among other items.
The state Probation and Parole Board is already implementing those changes.
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About PRCN's - Scott Detrow
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- Scott Detrow came to the Capitol from WITF-FM, where he covered Central Pennsylvania news and anchored local "All Things Considered" segments. Much of his reporting focused on the 2008 presidential primary and general election, as well as the Pennsylvania National Guard. Detrow has also covered New York City politics for WFUV-FM, earning a distinction from the New York Press Club, and won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for a radio documentary on South Africa's AIDS pandemic in 2007. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham University with degrees in political science and English.