Weger parole good for Weger; better for society

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board did the right thing last November granting parole to convicted triple murderer Charles Weger, who left prison February 21 after a 3 month delay. Incarcerated for 59 years, 3 months and 5 days following his arrest for the killing of 3 Chicago housewives hiking in Starved Rock State Park. Weger, 80, was poised to eclipse the Illinois incarceration mark of another convicted triple murderer, William Heirens, who served 65 years, 8 months and 11 days before his 2012 death in prison. In an irony, both men escaped the death penalty because of doubts of their guilt. And rightly so. Neither was convicted on irrefutable evidence. A year after Weger’s conviction a juror told the Sun-Times she regretted her vote to convict. Heirens conviction was utterly tainted by a made up ‘true confession’ by a Chicago Tribune reporter and extended police torture of the 17 year old patsy designated to clear out 3 heinous and separate Chicago murders, the truth be damned.

Weger, in ill health, can at least can breathe outdoor air a free man till his impending demise.  His release can benefit society by shining a spotlight on Illinois’ outmoded, bloated sentencing restrictions which vastly over incarcerate prisoners. Illinois prisons cage 40,000 in a system designed for 27,000. We’re just one of 9 states with over a thousand serving 50 year plus sentences. Over 4,500 are serving 20 year plus sentences. One in 7 prisoners will die in prison.

While Illinois wisely abolished capital punishment in 2011, we need to take the next, considerably more difficult step, and abolish life without parole. It does nothing to deter crime. It simply clogs up overcrowded prisons with aging, no longer dangerous felons squandering precious tax dollars.  Illinois should go further and consider lowering sentences for all classes of crimes, violent as well as non-violent, when conditions warrant.

The granddaughter of one of Weger’s victims asked “If you let him go today, does that mean the crime wasn’t brutal?” That’s the wrong question. It’s up to society to pose this question: “Does it add any value to Illinois society to waste precious state treasure caging a feeble old man till he expires? The answer to both is a resounding NO.