Assemblyman Brian Manktelow (R,C,I,Ref-Lyons) is disappointed to see more pro-criminal legislation as state Majority leaders announce a bill (A.4319) which would allow prison inmates to become eligible for parole once they turn 55 if they have served 15 consecutive years.

“It’s both disappointing and unsurprising to see state Majority leaders push their pro-criminal agenda yet again,” said Manktelow. “So far they have pushed to give prisoners a pay raise and tablets, felons the right to vote and serve on juries and closed prisons, thus taking away jobs from law-abiding citizens. Now they want to allow people who have committed serious crimes to have the possibility of early parole just because they turned 55. This is outrageous. Why do we even have laws in place if we are just going to continue to make exceptions like this? A person’s age shouldn’t be a factor in receiving early parole. They were given that sentence for a reason, and they should be required to serve it like anyone else. It’s as simple as that.”