Denial of parole appropriate for brutal killers of young cop

Several weeks ago, I wrote a column about the upcoming parole hearing for Silas Fletcher, one of three brutal killers who kidnapped and murdered a young Hillside police officer in 1972.

As previously indicated, one of the three killers - Jesse Millard - is now dead (after being killed in the commission of a home invasion) and the third killer - Robert Martinez - remains in prison. Every three years, Fletcher and Martinez have parole hearings to determine whether they should be released back into society.

I stated that I opposed parole for either of these two and that they should remain in prison for the rest of their lives. Many of you took the time to send me copies of letters that you mailed to the Prison Review Board, concurring with my position. I am pleased to report that the Prison Review Board agreed and, once again, denied Fletcher's release.

Some of you wanted to know why Fletcher and Martinez were not sentenced to death or life without possibility of parole. Either of those sentences would have secured the fate of these murderers and would certainly negate the need to go through these hearings every three years.

In addition, members of the Hillside Police Department, the now-retired Illinois State Police investigators involved in the case, and the officer's surviving family members could have some solace knowing that the killers would remain imprisoned. However, no sentence of any type would ease the lifelong sorrow and pain that their gruesome act has created for others.

The answer to the question of why the murderers were not sentenced to either death or life without possibility of parole is quite simple: Those sentences did not exist in the state of Illinois in 1972.

The killers were given the maximum sentences available under the sentencing guidelines that previously existed in our state and their continuing series of parole hearings are being done pursuant to the legal mandates of their sentences.

Therefore, this means that two times every three years, members of the Prison Review Board will have to listen to the representatives of Silas and Fletcher as they try to explain how long they have been in prison, how old they are getting, and how they are no longer a threat to anyone.

Retired state police Col. David Williams was an investigator with the state police in 1972, and he devoted three years of his career investigating this horrible crime and providing the testimony for the murder convictions.

He does not agree that they would not pose a threat to others if they were released on parole. He has told me that they are two of the most violent and brutal people he ever met during his career.

I do not care about how long they have been incarcerated. No amount of time could ever make up for their actions, and it is fitting that our Prison Review Board continues to deny their parole and their freedom.

Naperville Police Chief David Dial's column appears every other Monday.