alex kelly reviewed for parole

The Hartford Courant has a pretty lengthy article today on the parole hearing of Alex Kelly, convicted rapist, absconder and former rich town champion wrestler.

Kelly was 18 when he raped two girls aged 16 and 17.

Kelly failed to appear in court when his case was scheduled to go to trial in February 1987. Instead, he fled the country and remained a fugitive – traveling, working and skiing throughout Europe, Asia and Africa – until he surrendered in Switzerland in January 1995. He did so after federal authorities searched his parents’ Darien home and seized letters and postcards that not only revealed his whereabouts, but also exposed his parents to criminal liability for concealing his whereabouts.

I heard he was working in some vineyards over in Europe.

Now, after serving 50% of his sentence he is up for parole…. like every other inmate in the state not covered by the 85% classification. The article is good for one thing though: it does explain fairly well “statutory good time”, which was repealed in 1994. Inmates serving crimes for offenses pre-1994 still get SGT, though.

Convicts who committed crimes involving the use or threat of violence after July 1, 1996, must serve 85 percent of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole; Kelly is eligible under the old requirements that he serve 50 percent of his sentence before applying for parole.Kelly also gets substantial time taken off his sentence for good behavior – 10 days for every 30 served. The General Assembly did away with this “good time credit” in October 1994, but Kelly is eligible for it because his crimes predated that legislation by more than eight years.

Kelly has written a five page letter [requires pdf] to the Board of Parole in support of his release.

WTNH reports that Kelly has been denied parole.

In a unanimous decision, the state parole board has rejected rapist Alex Kelly’s request for early release.The decision late this morning came after Kelly and the two women he was convicted of raping in the mid 1980s testified before the state parole board.

The board said that it opted against paroling Kelly because of the brutal nature of the crimes.

Not yet clear whether he’s been given a denny or an outright denial. Either way, his max discharge date is sometime in 2008.