The state parole board’s sole reliance on an inmate’s crime, without factoring in his rehabilitative efforts or the fact that the panel’s own risk assessment tool concluded he is unlikely to re-offend, warrants a rare reversal of the agency’s determination, an upstate judge has held.
Acting Rensselaer County Supreme Court Justice Henry Zwack (See Profile), sitting in Albany Country, said he could find no rationale, except for the underlying crime, for keeping Robert Stokes in prison. He noted the law was “clear that the nature and severity of the crime standing alone is not sufficient to sustain a denial of parole.”
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