Safe guarding my family once a prisoner gets paroled.
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Safe guarding my family once a prisoner gets paroled.
A family member testified/witnessed against someone for a double murder. That person was sentenced to life, straight time. I’m not sure what that means. Shortly after they went to prison they sent word to my family member that they’d hunt them down and **** them when they got out. It has been 20 years. The prisoner is coming up for parole soon. I want to know what I can do to protect my family from being pursued by this person once they are paroled. Please advise.
Asked on May 1, 2009 under Criminal Law, South Carolina
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
Parole decisions are made after a hearing, and your family member should have a right to speak at that hearing, telling the parole board about the threat and asking them to keep this person in jail. You can find the details at the South Carolina parole board's website: http://www.dppps.sc.gov/victim_services_parole.html
I hope your family member reported the threat to the police when it happened. It is very hard to prove threats of this sort, and while the police and the courts are usually sympathetic to people in your situation, they usually can't do much without hard evidence.
You should alert the police in your town to the situation, if the criminal is going to be released, and you might also want to talk to the prosecutor's office that got the conviction, especially before the parole hearing, since the prosecutor will be part of the hearing as well. It can't hurt to have a lawyer working with you on this, and you can find one near you at http://attorneypages.com
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