Judge calls out Parole Board for considering early release of two criminals | Free news

A Jones County man who was convicted of meth trafficking and child abuse is being considered for early release after serving half of his mandatory sentence, and the judge who sentenced him is not in favor thrilled.

Jimmy Ray Tucker, 33, was sentenced to 10 years of full-time confinement in the Mississippi Department of Corrections after pleading guilty in Jones County Circuit Court in September 2022 to trafficking methamphetamine. He was sentenced to five years in prison in January 2021 for child abuse.

But Judge Dal Williamson received notice from the Parole Board that Tucker was being considered for release this month — in a notice that wasn't even received until this month, he said. note. His tentative release date listed on his MDOC photo is September 24, 2034.

“This defendant was convicted under the trafficking statute, and the 10-year sentence, under the statute, is mandatory and he is not eligible for early release,” Williamson wrote. “He’s not even eligible for parole under the trafficking law!!”

Tucker was arrested by the Jones County Sheriff's Department with 32.28 grams of methamphetamine in January 2021, after being released early on a felony child abuse charge. The judge ordered him to serve the five years that had previously been suspended from that sentence.

Rashad Hardy, 29, is also being considered for release this month after serving less than half of his sentence for a July 2019 aggravated assault conviction.

“This defendant should not be granted parole until he has served 60 percent of his 10-year sentence for aggravated assault,” Williamson wrote. “He didn’t even serve five years.”

Hardy also pleaded guilty to common assault and possession of contraband in a correctional institution and was sentenced to an additional five and two years respectively, but these sentences were to run concurrently with the 10-year order. years for aggravated assault.

Hardy pleaded guilty to shooting a man in the leg in South Park Village in August 2018. He has a lengthy criminal record, including charges for beating and biting a woman in Ellisville for which he was out on bail at the time. of the shooting. He was also involved in the beating and robbery of a pizza delivery driver in New Orleans shortly before the shooting for which he is serving time. He has convictions in Laurel dating back to January 2013.

Judges, district attorneys and sheriffs receive notifications about offenders who need to be heard and are asked if they have a response.

Williamson has long criticized MDOC and the Parole Board for the early release of prisoners sentenced by his court, and he has made this known to them from the bench and in the “comments” portion of these notices.

The Parole Board holds an eligibility file four months before offenders are eligible for parole, but this is just a hearing – it is not a foregone conclusion that they will be released – and the law requires that they have a hearing no later than 30 days. Ahead of their month of eligibility, Parole Board Chairman Jeffery Belk wrote in response to an article last summer.

“Receiving comments before a hearing is crucial to the process, and we appreciate Judge Williamson taking the time to consider them,” he wrote.