Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from Final Reading from VTDigger’s inside guide to the Statehouse written by our legislative reporters, John Walters, Grace Elletson and Xander Landen. Get the full Final Reading bulletin, with updates on every major piece of legislation moving through the Statehouse, the daily legislative calendar, interviews with newsmakers and the Statehouse cafeteria menu in your inbox Tuesday-Saturday by signing up here.
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard some gut-wrenching testimony Thursday morning on S.261, a bill that would abolish the sentence of “life without parole” in Vermont. The concept behind the bill is that every offender deserves at least the possibility of a second chance.
Witnesses on both sides of the issue spoke from deep, life-changing experience. First up was Alex Sobel, the father of Lara Sobel, the social worker murdered by Jody Herring, one of her clients, in 2015. Herring is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole.
“I can’t even describe what our family has been through,” Sobel said by phone from his Florida home. “I oppose S.261 or any bill that would abolish life without parole. The rights of those convicted of murder must never supersede the rights of their victims.”
The next two witnesses, both speaking by phone from California, came to very different conclusions through bitter experience. Azim Karmisa’s son Tarik was murdered by a 14-year-old gang member; in the aftermath he committed himself to restorative justice. He spoke of the importance of giving every offender a chance at redemption.
The final speaker was Nick Woodall, who committed murder as a young man and was sentenced to life without parole in California. During his three decades behind bars, he became a committed Christian and trained as a paralegal. His sentence was eventually commuted by then-governor Jerry Brown, and he was paroled in late 2019.
“Without the opportunity for review of our life sentences, we have no hope, no chance to be a productive member of society,” Woodall said. “I am not the only one. There are many others like me on the inside.”
The bill has already been amended in one crucial way: It would allow life without parole for those convicted of aggravated murder. That would provide a way to ensure that the very worst offenders are kept behind bars for life.
Testifying by phone usually limits the impact of a witness’ testimony. Not this time. Members of the committee were deeply affected by all three stories. The fate of the bill is unclear. “We will schedule time next week to consider the bill and hopefully make some decisions,” said committee chair Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington. – John Walters
ALSO IN FINAL READING: No lawmakers flip on paid leave in the final vote; legislators taking a partial snow day Friday; Mother Up! members visit Climate Solutions Caucus; reporter Grace Elletson’s Q&A with Rep. Diane Lanpher; and more news bites from our Statehouse reporting crew. Also: committee news, Statehouse calendar and cafeteria menu.