Parole

The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole fired three employees Friday who oversaw the case of Rafael Jones, the man accused of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker Jr. in August. The board declined to name the employees, but multiple sources identified them as Juan Rodriguez, Jones' parole agent, and Rodriguez's supervisors, Michelle Rivera and Rosa Hernandez. "These employees were terminated due to violations of board procedures, the board's code of conduct, and shortcomings in the manner in which Jones was supervised," Board Chairman Michael C. Potteiger said in a statement.

The family of Moses Walker Jr., the Philadelphia police officer killed in an attempted stickup in August, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, saying state officials caused Walker's death by allowing his alleged killer to roam the streets when he should have been behind bars. "Officer Walker's murder occurred as the result of a systemic breakdown," said Michael F. Barrett, one of the attorneys representing Walker's family, at a news conference at his Center City office.

THE FAMILY OF Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker Jr., who was killed in a botched robbery in August, has sued the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, its chairman and three parole agents, claiming they missed multiple chances before Walker's murder to jail the confessed killer for violating parole. The board violated Walker's civil rights by "permitting a systemic breakdown" that placed Walker in the path of parole violator and serial armed mugger Rafael Jones early Aug. 18, attorney Michael F. Barrett contends in the federal wrongful-death lawsuit.

The family of Moses Walker, Jr., the Philadelphia Police Officer killed in an attempted stickup last August, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, saying state officials caused Walker's death by allowing his alleged killer to roam the streets when he should have been behind bars. "Officer Walker's murder occurred as the result of a systemic breakdown," said Michael F. Barrett, one of the attorneys representing Walker's family, at a news conference at his Center City office.

Two months after the slaying of Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker Jr., the state Probation and Parole Board chairman Tuesday declined to answer lawmakers' questions on why the man charged in Walker's killing was on the streets in the first place. At a hearing of the House Democratic Policy Committee in Northeast Philadelphia, Probation and Parole Board Chairman Michael C. Potteiger answered general questions about his office's policies and procedures. But he said he would wait to discuss Walker's case until his staff completed a full investigation.

SUFFIELD, Conn. - Imprisoned Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel lost a bid Wednesday for freedom, turned down at his first parole hearing since he was convicted a decade ago of beating his teenage neighbor to death with a golf club. He was told he would not be eligible for five years to be considered again for release. Skakel, who proclaimed his innocence at the hearing, nodded, grimaced, and patted his attorney on the back as he was led away after the three-person state parole board announced the unanimous decision.

Time is running out for Gov. Corbett to commute the sentence of an inmate facing execution on Oct. 3 for murdering the Philadelphia man who sexually abused him as a child. Whether or not a city judge intervenes to halt Pennsylvania's first execution in more than a decade, the course for Corbett is clear: clemency for condemned killer Terrance "Terry" Williams. For their part, pardons officials who will deliberate next week in Harrisburg on Williams' fate should take the next critical step in prompting the governor to act - with a recommendation that Corbett commute Williams' death sentence to life without parole.

Throwing open the prison doors to put an inmate out on probation is always a gamble, but there are times when it's plainly just a losing bet. The release of the ex-con charged in the fatal shooting of Police Officer Moses Walker Jr. just before the Aug. 18 attack clearly is a case where law enforcement officials would, in a heartbeat, turn back the clock. Had the accused gunman, Rafael Jones, 23, not been on the streets that day with his alleged accomplice, Chancier McFarland, the 19-year police veteran Walker could have reached home safely after working an overnight shift.

Gov. Corbett on Thursday called for the state Board of Probation and Parole to conduct a full investigation into the release of Rafael Jones, who walked out of prison 10 days before police say he shot and killed Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker Jr. Under the conditions of Jones' probation, he was to be subject to house arrest, electronic monitoring, and drug screenings. But interviews and documents have shown that Jones' monitoring was never set up and that he was allowed to walk free after failing a drug test - in direct contravention of a judge's order - three days before he allegedly killed Walker.

Gov. Corbett on Thursday called for the state Board of Probation and Parole to conduct a full investigation into the release of Rafael Jones, who walked out of prison 10 days before police say he shot and killed Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker Jr. Under the conditions of Jones' probation, he was to be subject to house arrest, electronic monitoring, and drug screenings. But interviews and documents have shown that Jones' monitoring was never set up and that he was allowed to walk free after failing a drug test - in direct contravention of a judge's order - three days before he allegedly killed Walker.