Stephen Calls On Lynch To Fix Early Release Law At Veto Session
Press Release
John Stephen, Republican nominee for New Hampshire Governor, today called on Governor Lynch to do the right thing and fix the recently passed law that allows for early parole of violent prisoners and sex offenders when the legislature meets to vote on vetoes at a special session on Wednesday.
"Every day, we hear about another case where a violent criminal or sex offender is being let out of prison early or getting a slap on the wrist for a parole violation that would have involved a long prison sentence," Stephen said. "It's time for the Governor to put an end to this and acknowledge that he has signed a flawed law and work to fix it. Tomorrow's legislative session is the perfect time to resolve this issue and stop the flow of violent criminals back on our streets early."
Stephen said that at the very least, Governor Lynch should support provisions restoring the discretion of the parole board as to the amount of time a violent offender or sex predator is returned to prison if they offend while out on parole. The current legislation limits the time these felons are returned to prison to just 90 days. In addition, he also called for eliminating the mandatory parole for violent and sex offenders with nine months remaining on their maximum sentence.
"Governor Lynch should, at the minimum, listen to the parole board who want to stop the automatic early release of violent and sex offenders nine months before their sentence is up and giving those parolees who are violent and sex offenders a 90-day sentence, instead of allowing the parole board the opportunity to determine if they are a threat to society," Stephen added. "These are basic, common sense steps that the Governor should be championing and we should all work together to improve the public safety of the state. I call on Governor Lynch to reconsider his plans to oppose any changes to this flawed policy that removes any discretion from parole officers for these dangerous offenders."
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