Gov. Healey pens letter to parole board in case of man who shot and killed state trooper
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has come out against the possible parole of a man who was convicted of shooting and killing a state trooper in 1983.
Healey on Tuesday submitted a formal letter to the state parole board voicing her "unequivocal opposition" to the release of Jose Colon, who is scheduled for a hearing before the board on Thursday.
On Feb. 26, 1983, Massachusetts State Police trooper George Hanna pulled over a car in Auburn. Colon was in the car with two other men and two women. When Hanna ordered them out of the vehicle, Colon shot Hanna six times at close range.
Hanna died later that night, leaving behind a wife and three children.
In her letter to the parole board, Healey said Colon should not be granted parole.
"Given the extraordinary significance this case holds for our state, I believe it is necessary to voice my clear and unequivocal opposition to Jose Colon's release," Healey wrote.
Colon is currently serving a life sentence, but he was 20 years old at the time of the killing, making him eligible for parole in the wake of a 2024 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling.
In Commonwealth v. Mattis , the court ruled that sentencing people, ages 18 to 20 at the time of their offense, to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional and amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment."
Massachusetts holds a yearly awards presentation in Hanna's name . In her letter, Healey says she has attended the awards for the past decade and details how she has come to know Hanna's family.
"His daughters, Deborah and Kimberly, still present the awards in his name, keeping their father's memory central to the Commonwealth's recognition of courage and dedication in law enforcement," Healey wrote. "For the past 10 years, I have personally sat with Deborah and Kimberly at the Hanna Award ceremony and have witnessed the pain they continue to endure because of their father's brutal murder."
The other two men in the car with Colon are also serving life sentences.
Healey made it clear she wants Colon to stay in prison.
"Massachusetts rightly holds Trooper Hanna's name as a symbol of honor and valor," Healey wrote. "Releasing the individual who fired the shots that killed Trooper Hanna would diminish the meaning of the very legacy we continue to uphold and would send a dangerous signal that deliberate killing of a police officer is anything less than the most heinous of crimes."
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