On Thursday afternoon, Gov. Beverly Perdue said the credits will only be used to improve an inmate’s chance at parole and not be the keys that release them.
The governor said Thursday that the 20 violent inmates who were nearly set free because of a 1970s law that limited a life sentence to 80 years are not eligible to receive good behavior credits that would shorten their sentences.
Perdue said the prisioner’s earliest release would be 2054.
‘‘I will continue to pursue all legal means of preventing the release of these inmates without any review by the parole board or any post-release supervision,’’ Perdue said in a statement Thursday.
Inmate William Dean Baggett, 60, was convicted in Sampson County of first degree murder in February 1976 and has spent the past 32 years in prison serving a life sentence.
Baggett was convicted of murdering James Williams on Oct. 24, 1976, at a Sampson County nightclub after an argument broke out between the two men. Baggett subsequently pulled out a gun and shot Williams twice — in the front and in the back — killing him.
Court records show Baggett had just been released from prison after serving less than 10 years for a second degree murder conviction when he was charged with the 1976 murder..
The notion of the potential releases of the “violent criminals” appalled victims and their advocates, partially because most of the inmates would be freed without any post-release supervision. Only one would have had official supervision, although those convicted of rape would have to register as sex offenders.
“I wholeheartedly support Gov. Perdue and will do anything that I have to to support her efforts to keep them in prison,” said Sampson County District Attorney Dewey Hudson. “I always will.”
Speaking specifically on Baggett, Hudson said he does not want to see him back on the streets anytime soon.
“There is strong evidence that he is a dangerous man,” he said. “He has been convicted of two murders ...”
Hudson had previously stated that Baggett was eligible for parole in 1997, but was denied.
“He didn’t get released because he is really dangerous,” the district attorney said. “Most people are eligible for parole (on a first degree murder charge) after 20 years. His came and went because he is a dangerous psychopath, in my opinion. I have talked with prison officials and what they tell me is that if Baggett is released, he will kill again. That is why I am in absolute favor of Gov. Perdue working to keep them in prison.”
It was inmate Bobby Bowden who had successfully argued in state courts that his life sentence was defined as 80 years, something Perdue conceded in her statement Thursday. He had also argued that a new sentencing law that began in the early 1980s had cut his time in half and that additional credits — 210 days of good conduct credit, 753 days of meritorious credit and 1,537 days of gain-time credit — made him immediately eligible for unconditional release.
“It will probably be an uphill battle (to continue to keep them in),” said Hudson, “but it is something that all leaders, Democrat or Republican, need to get behind.”
To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or send e-mail to sisports@myclintonnc.com.
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