Rendell lifts parole ban for violent inmates

HARRISBURG - Gov. Rendell lifted a two-month moratorium on paroling violent offenders yesterday after a consultant's report indicated that the state's procedures for releasing inmates were largely sound and safe.

John S. Goldkamp, the head of Temple University's criminal justice department, also said parole officials were not at fault in the August release of Daniel Giddings, who a month later gunned down Philadelphia Police Sgt. Patrick McDonald.

"Nobody fell asleep at the wheel," Goldkamp told reporters yesterday, adding that by all indications, Giddings appeared deserving of parole because of his recent good prison behavior. "Some of the things people keep inside are hidden well."

". . . This is a guy who acted very well for a number of years, but when he got out, he as an individual made some very bad decisions. They were things we couldn't see easily in advance. I don't know if I would have done any better in reading the signs."

Giddings, 27, was released to a halfway house Aug. 18 after serving 10 years of a 6- to-12-year sentence for robbery and aggravated assault. Five weeks later, he killed McDonald, 30, after a traffic stop. Police shot and killed Giddings as he attempted to flee.

The Giddings case prompted Rendell in September to hire Goldkamp, a nationally recognized expert on incarceration, to conduct a "top-to-bottom" review of the parole system and to freeze all paroles pending the conclusion of his work.

Rendell, who had lifted the moratorium on nonviolent paroles last month, did the same yesterday for violent offenders, based on Goldkamp's findings.

"Compared with practices relating to violent offenders employed in other states . . . the approach used by Pennsylvania's parole board appears to stand up well," Goldkamp said in his report.

Rendell said he was encouraged by the findings, but added that "we must not become complacent and assume our efforts cannot be improved upon."

In the conference call with reporters, Goldkamp said he recommended that the moratorium be lifted because his review of the system in Pennsylvania showed that "public safety was being sufficiently attended to."

"You just can't stop parole forever unless you abolish parole," he said.

In the two months of the moratorium, the state's prison population has grown from 46,883 to more than 48,000.

John McNesby, head of Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he had not read the report but was unimpressed with its summary.

"They're cleaning up their own mess," he said. "That's like putting the mouse in charge of the cheese factory."

He took issue with Goldkamp's assessment that parole officials appeared to have acted responsibly.

"I think that's a bunch of crap," he said.

As part of his report, Goldkamp also recommended that the state classify violent offenders into two categories - those most likely to commit another offense and those less likely to pose a risk to the public. To divide them, officials should consider past offenses as well as current ones, and also take into account whether a gun was used in the crimes.

The state has begun putting in place other Goldkamp recommendations, including ones calling for more intensive supervision policies.

All violent offenders will be more closely supervised for the first 90 days of parole and will face a mandatory curfew, under the policies announced yesterday. The parolee will also automatically be reviewed for additional support services to ensure he or she is better prepared to manage life outside of prison.

Catherine C. McVey, who chairs the state Board of Probation and Parole, said Goldkamp's report "validates our parole system and validated much of what we do" while offering ideas to improve it.

"We have a good system and this will make it better," she said.

Goldkamp said he was entering the final phase of his work for the administration. It includes research on staffing levels, and should be completed by spring, he said.

To read John Goldkamp's report, go to http://go.philly.com/jailEndText