Gov. Deval Patrick nominated Lucy M. Soto-Abbe of Springfield for a seat on the state Parole Board. The governor nominated her to fill a position that became vacant after he accepted the resignations of five board members who voted to release Dominic Cinelli about 18 months before Cinelli shot a Woburn police officer after a failed jewelry robbery on Dec. 26.
Lucy Soto-Abbe of Springfield is seeking to become a member of the state Parole BoardLucy M. Soto-Abbe, an advocate for victims and witnesses for the Hampden District Attorney for the past 17 years, said that she would be impartial when voting on requests for parole. She said that she supports parole.
“I can be fair,” she said during the hearing in front of the Governor’s Council. “I know I am a fair and objective person.”
Opponents said the Parole Board would be stacked with members with backgrounds in law enforcement if Soto-Abbe and other nominees are approved. They said they respected Soto-Abbe and were against her appointment only because of her work in a prosecutor’s office, not for any personal reasons.
Patricia Garin, left, a lawyer and advocate for inmate rights, spoke against approval of Lucy Soto-Abbe as a new member of the Parole Board.Patricia Garin, a lawyer an adjunct professor at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, said six of seven members of the Parole Board would have law-enforcement experience if Soto-Abbe and two other nominees are approved.
Garin said it would be difficult for Soto-Abbe to be fair in judging parole requests. She said it is rare for a victim of crime to be cleared to sit on a jury.
“She is not of the skill set we need on the Parole Board,” Garin said.
A couple of criminal defense lawyers, including Margaret Fox of Boston, and two former inmates also opposed Soto-Abbe because of her position and experience.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick on March 4 nominated Soto-Abbe and three others for positions on the Parole Board. Members would receive $90,000 a year.
The Governor’s Council must vote whether to confirm nominees. The eight-member council is scheduled to vote on Wednesday on Soto-Abbe.
Patrick nominated the four to fill the positions of members who resigned after they voted to parole a repeat violent convict who then shot and killed a Woburn patrolman in December. Five parole board members resigned after they voted to release Dominic Cinelli.
Cinelli, the man who killed the Woburn officer, was serving three life sentences for assault and robbery convictions when he was released in early 2009. Cinelli died in a shoot-out with the officer, John B. Maguire.
Soto-Abbe said that victims of crimes sometimes ask for too much from a prosecutor’s office when they push for a maximum sentence. A maximum sentence may not always fit the crime, she said.
“You have to talk them down and not in a bad way,” she said.
Soto-Abbe, 39, said public safety would be paramount in her parole decisions. She said she would follow the legal standard in determining whether an inmate would be likely to commit another crime while on parole.
A native of the North End of Springfield, Soto-Abbe said she grew up with Christian values and morals, giving her a strong foundation to avoid problems such as gangs, drugs and violence.
Richard Soto, a Springfield police detective, is her brother.
She said parole can be better than requiring an inmate to serve a full sentence. If released on parole, an inmate will have support and supervision and may be able to stay away from old habits, she said.
In order to approve parole, she said, she would set conditions that would involve education, employment and counseling.
Former Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett joined Susan Hamilton, a lawyer in Springfield, and Joyce P. Brown, a teacher’s aide at an elementary school in Springfield, in supporting Soto-Abbe during the hearing.
Brown said Soto-Abbe was “excellent” as an advocate for her in court after a teenage student stabbed and killed her husband, the Rev. Theodore N. Brown, 51, a counselor at the Springfield High School, an alternative school. The student, Corey N. Ramos, was convicted of second-degree murder and given a mandatory life sentence with eligibility for parole after 15 years.
Brown said she was honored to support Soto-Abbe. “She stepped in and guided us through the whole process,” Brown said.