Attempted Murder Prison Release

What is the name of your state? Illinois

My question concerns my wife and her immediate family. Recently, her ex-stepfather, Randy, was released from prison. The reasons for his incarceration include, but are not limited to, domestic violence and attempted murder. This person had abused my wife and her mother and tried to kill them both with a shotgun while high on cocaine.

Randy has served only three years of a maximum six and was released for "good behavior". He has a history of drug and alcohol abuse. These were reasons attributed to his "blackouts" and generally anti-humanitarian misdeeds. He is an ex-carpenter and stocky. Strong and abusive do not go together.

With his release, he lives only one-half mile from my mother-in-law's house. She lives with her new husband and my wife's little brother of 13 (who was not present for the attempted murder and was too young to remember the domestic violence). My wife's little brother is Randy's son.

Currently, Randy harasses my mother-in-law and brother-in-law with about 16-20 phone calls a day. He has threatened that his son is not being taken care of properly and has stated that he will "take care of (my mother-in-law)" in a menacing manner. We suspect that he is drinking heavily again since his release. The police have been notified, but we still stand helpless as to what can be done and what we can do to stop this madman. If you can help with any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

MatrixPlus said:

What is the name of your state? Illinois

My question concerns my wife and her immediate family. Recently, her ex-stepfather, Randy, was released from prison. The reasons for his incarceration include, but are not limited to, domestic violence and attempted murder. This person had abused my wife and her mother and tried to kill them both with a shotgun while high on cocaine.

Randy has served only three years of a maximum six and was released for "good behavior". He has a history of drug and alcohol abuse. These were reasons attributed to his "blackouts" and generally anti-humanitarian misdeeds. He is an ex-carpenter and stocky. Strong and abusive do not go together.

With his release, he lives only one-half mile from my mother-in-law's house. She lives with her new husband and my wife's little brother of 13 (who was not present for the attempted murder and was too young to remember the domestic violence). My wife's little brother is Randy's son.

Currently, Randy harasses my mother-in-law and brother-in-law with about 16-20 phone calls a day. He has threatened that his son is not being taken care of properly and has stated that he will "take care of (my mother-in-law)" in a menacing manner. We suspect that he is drinking heavily again since his release. The police have been notified, but we still stand helpless as to what can be done and what we can do to stop this madman. If you can help with any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

-If he just got out of prison, then he is on parole. You need to find out who his parole agent is and see about getting his parole violated. You also need to file a report with your local police every time he threatens her.

Tyris

I agree. I would also question the police as to filing a RO. I don't know they are telling you they can't do anything.

This madman is violating his parole just by threatening your mother in law and making harrassing phone calls all the time. Tell your mother in law to tape his phone calls.....then go to his parole officer and let her/him hear what he is saying. Also, if he is drinking again...that too is a violation of parole. Inform the parole officer of where he goes to drink ( if it's a bar etc) I'm sure he is doing other things in violation of parole. If he violates parole, he will serve the rest of his time and/or perhaps more. Also, tell your mother in law to keep filing complaints with the police...one way or another, this animal will be locked up where he belongs. You must work quickly on this...I know what I would do, but that's a different story. I hope things work out for your family.

Some terms you need to know:

Parole Board Orders: these will be things such as mandatory drug and/or alcohol evaluations and treatments. Considering his committing offense, mandatory anger management is a probable. As are PRB's that state, among other things, no victim contact.

Illinois has a public website WWW.IDOC.STATE.IL.US with listings of every person currently incarcerated or on parole in the state, complete with pictures, mittimus, sentencing, etc. Simply put in the guy's name under inmate search. There are also phone numbers to contact parole agents and institutes of incarceration. Use them, along with the guy's name and IDOC (prisoner) number to contact the parole agent.

ABSOLUTELY file police reports and file for orders of protection for your wife, her mother, and all members of her household. Make sure all home, work and school addresses for all parties are listed also. Stop answering the phone and get him on tape on an answering machine. Even if you dont have an order of protection right away, having proof of contact is a violation of his no victm contact PRB order. Go spend the $20 for a cheap answering machine if necessary. Contact the phone company and get traps installed on the phones so there will be a court admissable record of calls coming in to your numbers. Give this information to the parole agent and the police.

Understand what a parole agent can and cannot do. It is up to the police to enforce existing laws, arrest suspected violators of those laws and to investigate possible violations of those laws. And that includes filing charges of harassment. If the local PD will not take at least an incident report, go to the county court house and ask for Victims' Services. THEY will make sure the reports are taken, filed and investigated.

A parole agent enforces the terms of the MSR, (mandatory supervised release), agreement. If this person commits a new crime, it will be in the hands of the police, but a parole agent can then use that arrest, police report or incident report, as cause to violate their parole and return them to prison. Even if the new charges are thrown out. The best thing you can do is get an order of protection, catch him violating that and then you have a new sentence for the new crime, a violation of his parole board orders as well as a violation of his MSR agreement.

Parole agents will not test for alcohol use. They may (usually) test for drug use. Illegal drug use, however, will not get someone sent back to jail. They will be referred (at State expense) to counseling or even inpatient treatment (at State expense). The good liberals have won the argument that it is not fair to require treatment they cannot afford. Afterall, drug and alcohol abuse may be an illegal activitiy, but it is a disease and therefore not a crime. It is a sickness for which they will be treated, and for which they may even qualify as disabled, thereby becoming eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits.

People think we dont have double jeopardy in this country and they are wrong. But, happily, that is one of the constitutional protections that felons forfeit. There are many, many people currently sitting in county jails awaitig trials for charges they would have otherwise been able to bond out on except for a no bond/no bail warrant from IDOC. Once the local courts are done with them, regardless of the outcome, they are shipped back to the institution where they face the Parole Board for the same actions. But this time, the hearing is about possible parole violations stemming from the actions that landed them in the county jail and court.

Do the above, do it yesterday and rest assured he will be going back to jail, hopefully for the remainder of his sentence as well as for any time they may tack on for the new crime. It is an imperfect system, but it at least may give your wife and her family peace for a little while longer. Good Luck to you.