THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 27, 1994 TAG: 9408270250
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
One by one, the four respectable, middle-aged women told their hair-raising tales of brutal crimes committed and punishment cut short.
In front of Gov. George F. Allen and an enthusiastic crowd of his supporters on the steps of the courthouse Friday afternoon, the four went on to firmly endorse his plan to abolish parole.
``We have a system that kills hope of justice,'' said Dorothy Soule, whose son Paul was stabbed to death in Suffolk in 1979. His killer served less than half of his sentence before being paroled, she said.
Dale Pennell of Newport News told how her sister was raped and murdered in her Ghent apartment. ``I represent the growing ranks of homicide survivors who want more protection,'' she said.
Moments later, Allen said, ``It would be great if they were the only ones in the commonwealth. Unfortunately, they are not.''
The four were part of a well-orchestrated string of appearances by Allen, Attorney General James Gilmore and a host of political allies across the state in an effort to persuade the General Assembly to approve Allen's plan. The crowd carried placards that read: ``Abolish Parole Now!''
What some of the women said afterward - but Allen did not hear - is that they consider his proposal a good beginning, rather than the entire answer, to solving the crime problem.
First, Soule said, she wanted to make one thing clear: ``I am for the governor's recommendations, very much so. Something has got to be done.''
However, she also said, ``We have got to reach these kids in the home. We can't wait. We have to see to it that these single parents take parenting classes.
``It's not anything that starts with big spending. It takes people investing in people.''
Allen hasn't heard that side of Soule's passion on the issue because they haven't talked. She has appeared repeatedly in public to back his plan, but she has never had an opportunity to personally tell him her entire vision for combating and preventing crime.
Allen's proposal, which goes to the General Assembly in a special session opening Sept. 19, is about punishment. Pennell, a high school principal, said that is one-third of the package that needs to be crafted to deal with crime.
``This is a beginning,'' Pennell said. ``It's one of three things. You have to have punishment, but you also need prevention and rehabilitation. I'm still very interested in seeing all those things happen. I don't see them as opposing each other.''
On Friday, Allen focused on punishment and attacked rehabilitation.
``Don't let them start talking about all kinds of social programs and tinkering,'' he said. ``We are long past soft tinkering with this liberal parole system. People want action.
``Instead of blame and excuses, it's time to use incarceration, because we know that works. Incarceration is prevention.''
Pennell said, ``You can't really say this program focuses on prevention, except in the important area of incarcerating people who would otherwise be committing crimes.''
She said she was pleased to see that Allen's plan includes work camps and drug treatment facilities, and she hopes he is serious about those parts. ``Those are little baby steps toward rehabilitation,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Gov. George F. Allen, left, and Attorney General James Gilmore push
the governor's plan to abolish parole.
KEYWORDS: CRIME PAROLE
by CNB