Mass. man granted parole three decades after gang killing in fast food parking lot
A man who was convicted of shooting and killing a rival gang member in Springfield more than three decades ago has been granted parole.
Jason Jiles, 50, was granted parole on Feb. 26 and will be released to six months of a home plan followed by six months of electronic monitoring, according to parole documents .
In February 1995, Jiles and another member of the STG gang were ordered to kill 18-year-old Carlos Falcon, a member of a rival gang. Jiles, who was 19 at the time, approached Falcon in the parking lot of a KFC in Springfield and, along with his partner, opened fire.
Falcon was killed, while three passengers inside Falcon's car were shot but survived, according to parole documents.
Jiles was arrested, and on Dec. 6, 1995, he was convicted of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
However, in January 2024, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Mattis that sentencing people, ages 18 through 20 at the time of their offense, to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional and amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment."
Massachusetts was the first state in the country to transform the law, experts said.
"Essentially, the brains of what we are calling 'late adolescents' or 'emerging adults' function very much like juveniles," Northampton attorney Paul Rudof, one of the lawyers who successfully challenged life sentences for individuals aged 18 to 20, told The Republican .
There were 210 cases that fell into the Mattis decision across Massachusetts, including Jiles. He went in front of the parole board for the first time on September 23, 2025.
In granting his parole, the board ruled that Jiles is "low risk," meaning he is capable of reintegrating into society and is unlikely to violate the law again.
Jiles has not had a disciplinary report lodged against him since 1999 and earned his GED in 2013. He has also renounced his gang affiliations, according to court documents.
Jiles was set to be released by March 28.
The court's Mattis decision has been devastating for the families of those killed as they are forced to relive the trauma, often going in front of the parole board and the incarcerated individual to make their own case.
Families have described the process as a " nightmare ," stating they feel betrayed and that the system is treating murderers as victims while their own pain is ignored. One family member during a previous hearing walked out, feeling as if his side wasn't being fairly heard after the incarcerated individual was told they did a good job.
The parole board has so far granted freedom to about 40 people, which is a significant majority of those who have had hearings and decisions released. About 15 people have been denied parole following the Mattis decision.
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