ALBANY — For nearly 15 years, the family of Kathina Thomas has lived with the memory of the spring night when a teenager fired a stray bullet that struck the 10-year-old and ended her life outside their home on First Street in West Hill.
For the same span of time, Jermayne Timmons has lived with the knowledge that — just 15 years old on May 29, 2008 — he pulled the trigger. An Albany County jury convicted him of second-degree murder; Timmons received a sentence of 15 years to life in state prison.
The killing was a tragic and significant episode in the city’s efforts to address gun violence and the ways in which adult gang activity was being mirrored by young people. Law enforcement leaders and elected officials held news conferences and vowed to do more. Hundreds of community leaders and neighbors marched past the dead girl’s home in solidarity and grief.
But when Timmons appeared in front of three members of the state Board of Parole on Oct. 17, Thomas’ family remained in the dark. The reasons why are varied, but involve a significant amount of bureaucratic miscommunication.
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Timmons’ earliest possible release date, as imposed at his sentencing in 2009, was June 6, 2023. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the agency which operates New York prisons and its parole board, sent a letter on Sept. 14 to interested parties in the case — the sentencing judge, Timmons’ defense attorney and the office of Albany County District Attorney David Soares — stating that he was scheduled to appear before the parole board in February 2023, “or earlier if eligible and granted Merit Time.”
Indeed, Timmons had been eligible for that benefit, which was the reason why the hearing was held not in February but just a month…
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