ANOTHER PAROLE CATASTROPHE

In Pennsylvania, many of the 11 cops killed in the line of duty during the past four years were slain by parolees.

SLAIN PA. OFFICEDR’S FAMILY URGES CHANGES TO PAROLE SYSTEM

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
December 20, 2009

PITTSBURGH — 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.

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.