Pa. Officer's Family: Parole System Failed

Story Courtesy of Officer.com

Posted: Saturday, December 19, 2009

Updated: December 19th, 2009 11:22 AM GMT-05:00

 

BY CHRIS TOGNERI
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

As the family of slain Penn Hills police Officer Michael Crawshaw continues to mourn, they are asking state legislators to re-examine parole and sentencing guidelines.

"The system failed Michael and changes must be made," reads a letter Crawshaw's friends and family sent to about 100 officials, including Gov. Ed Rendell, state senators, judges and Pittsburgh City Council members.

"You, as our representatives, have been elected to create a system that will not only protect the citizens but also the brave men and women who make a career of protecting us. We need your help to bring about this change and not let the death of these dedicated officers be in vain," said the letter, given to the Tribune-Review.

Crawshaw, 32, of Penn Hills was fatally shot in his patrol car Dec. 6 as he awaited backup to investigate a report of an armed intruder. Police said Ronald Robinson, 32, of Homewood fatally shot Danyal Morton, 40, over a $500 drug debt inside a Johnston Road home before firing at least nine bullets into Crawshaw's car with an assault rifle.

Robinson, who was wearing an electronic monitoring device when police took him into custody, was paroled in 2007. He was released from prison after serving the minimum 2 1/2 years of a five-year term for illegally possessing a gun.

Had he served the maximum term, Robinson would not have been eligible for release until Feb. 24, 2010 -- and Officer Crawshaw would be alive today, his family believes.

"Michael was our son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, colleague, and friend," the letter states. "We who are left behind are now permanently scarred by his murder."

In the letter, Crawshaw's family seeks several changes:
--Impose and enforce maximum prison sentences;
--Stop withdrawing gun charges in exchange for plea agreements;
--Expand Pennsylvania's assessment process for determining the danger levels of sex offenders and predators to all felony probation and parole cases;
--Broaden the state's "three strikes" legislation for recidivism to include all felony offenses, including drug related crimes.

The letter notes that 11 law enforcement officials were killed in four years in Pennsylvania, including five in Allegheny County during the past 13 months. In many cases, Crawshaw's family writes, the suspects were parolees who could have been in jail.

"The guidelines for determining who gets released need to be re-examined and consideration for release should not be given to those who have shown a general disregard for human life," the letter reads. "Too often the perpetrators of these crimes are violent repeat offenders who should not be on the street."

The call for change has strong support.
Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton said Robinson repeatedly violated parole conditions. Records show he violated parole at least three times.

"Why was he out?" Burton said. "That's the whole question. And how many more people are out there just like that? The whole system has to be looked at."

Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, a former Allegheny County prosecutor, will consider the family's proposals, her office said. The Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1 promised to draft a letter supporting the Crawshaw family and send it to legislators, said Detective Chuck Hanlon, FOP vice president.

"Criminals need to be jailed, whether it costs taxpayers more money to build more jails or not," he said. "It's a question that has to be answered by taxpayers and legislators, where our values are going to go."
Crawshaw's cousin, Sarah Kielar, said the family hopes the public will help their cause by sending letters to legislators.

She said a Facebook group dedicated to Crawshaw, titled "A change to prevent fallen heroes," will offer a form letter that anyone can print, sign and mail to officials.

"We want to inundate them," Kielar said. "Imagine if they got 15,000 letters. They couldn't ignore that."
She said the Crawshaw family is comforted by support from police officers and the public.

"The support and condolences from people have been amazing, and it's really meant a lot. It's a nice tribute to Michael, and it's really amazing to see," she said. "The family is hanging in there, but it's been really tough."