Posts filed under 'Parole'
July 3rd, 2008
editor & publisher, an industry magazine, recently interviewed assistant managing editor anna voelker and executive editor linda grist cunningham about the register star’s parole petitions.
if you’re a regular reader, you know that those convicted of murder in the 1970s were sentenced under different guidelines today, allowing them to apply for parole on a regular basis.
the register star has asked readers four times this year to have their voice heard, for or against, in the parole hearings of robert henry lower, curtis brownell, ted bacino and simon peter nelson. thousands of you fill out our forms.
you can’t read the article, published tuesday, unless you’re a subscriber. but one quote says it all here:
Cunningham says the approach is a clear public service: “It is our way of helping residents.”
May 13th, 2008
People who’ve lived in Rockford for many years will often say the most horrific crime that’s ever happened here was the brutal murder of the six Nelson children — Jenny, 12; Simon Peter III, 10; Andrew, 8; Matthew, 7; Roseann, 6; and David, 3. Their father, Simon Peter Nelson, killed them with a knife and rubber mallet the morning of Jan. 7, 1978.
RRSTAR.COM FILE PHOTO
Simon Peter Nelson is pictured with his children and wife Ann in a family portrait taken shortly before the murders. Nelson killed his six children — Jenny, 12; Simon Peter III, 10; Andrew, 8; Matthew, 7; Roseann, 6; and David, 3 — with a knife and rubber mallet in January 1978 before driving from his family‘s home in Rockford to Milwaukee to beat his wife, who was seeking a divorce.
Nelson long has claimed that he “snapped” on the day of the murders, when his wife announced her intention to divorce him, and alleges that he can’t recall the killings because of amnesia. Nelson is up for parole in June. No member of the Prisoner Review Board has ever voted to release Nelson. You can sign a petition against or in support of Nelson’s parole here. You’ll also find a photo gallery and past stories
We first posted the petition online at 1:44 p.m. Since then, 226 of you have filed petitions to keep Nelson in prison. Our special report on the upcoming parole has garnered more than 6,300 page views so far.
We’re also collecting petitions on behalf of Michael Mayborne. The Winnebago County Sheriff’s deputy was killed by Theodore Bacino in 1974.
Already this year, Robert Henry Lower and Curtis Brownell were both denied parole for killing in the 1970s 15-year-old newspaper carrier Joey Didier and 17-year-old Louise Betts, respectively.
April 22nd, 2008
Lately, we’ve covered a couple parole hearings. Robert Henry Lower and Curtis Brownell were both denied parole earlier this year for killing in the 1970s 15-year-old newspaper carrier Joey Didier and 17-year-old Louise Betts, respectively.
Now, Theodore Bacino is approaching a parole hearing. Bacino killed Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Mayborne in 1974. At his parole hearing last year, Bacino narrowly got out of prison after the Illinois Prisoner Review Board voted 7-6 to keep him behind bars. Bacino’s parole decision is May 29. You have until May 28 to sign electronic petitions on our Web site either against for for Bacino’s parole.
Next week, we’ll make available an electronic petition regarding Simon Peter Nelson’s parole. Nelson stabbed and bludgeoned his six children to death Jan. 17, 1978. The Nelson children were Jenny, 12; Simon Peter III, 10; Andrew, 8; Matthew, 7; Roseann, 6; and David, 3. The mass murder was among the worst cases of filicide — the murder of one’s children — in the nation’s history.
December 5th, 2007
At this writing, nearly 2,100 people have signed electronic petitions on rrstar.com requesting that Robert Henry Lower remain in prison for murdering Joey Didier in 1975. Several hundred of you have faxed petitions to the Register Star. The response is huge considering it’s only been three days since we published a story in our online and print editions. The petitions — we offer you a choice to reject or support his parole — here.
Aaron Chambers, our Springfield bureau chief, went over to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and scanned several documents, including Lower’s confession. (You can read a post about this on our Editorial Board’s blog, A Seat at the Table.) I can’t even begin to tell you what’s in that letter. Most of it is so graphic, I can’t share it here. Joey was delivering our newspaper when he was abducted. It’s 32 years later, and it’s one of our region’s most horrendous crimes. I can write that with certainty based on the response we’ve gotten so far from those of you who believe Lower should not be paroled.
