Savannah Alderman Tom Bordeaux's Email To State Board of Pardons and Paroles Officials
Savannah Alderman Tom Bordeaux's Email To State Board of Pardons and Paroles Officials
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Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 3:38 AM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Meg Heap <[email protected]>; Greg McConnell <[email protected]>;
Noah Abrams <[email protected]>; Joseph Lumpkin <[email protected]>
Subject: Parole Notification - JOHNSON, MAURICE (ZX 782269)
Re:
JOHNSON, MAURICE
B/M, DOB: 05/07/1985
255-51-4421, DL#
FBI no. 765969CC0
Dear Mr. Henderson,
I had no idea a week or so ago that your office would be keeping me so busy objecting to premature
releases of convicted felons who were either violent or involved a firearm. It never occurred to me that
the State Board of Pardons and Parole would be so intent to let people out of prison who have not done
their time.
Heres the thing Savannah is experiencing not just a rash but a chronic infection of violent, firearmrelated incidents in which both bad actors and mere bystanders are being wounded or killed. Mind you,
Im not suggesting that Savannah is unique among American cities in 2015 to experience such violent
crime. Sadly, were pretty common in this regard.
But the fact is that, as a Savannah alderman, I work with the members of our Metro Police Department
and get to know some of them. And it sits in the back of my mind during every conversation with them
that, because of the violent nature and firepower of the criminals out there nowadays, any of these
officers may die patrolling our streets.
Those officers jobs are tough enough without the BPP releasing prematurely more violent or
weapons-related felons onto those streets.
Take one of the latest potential parolees Ive just heard of Mr. Maurice Johnson. Mr. Johnson was
convicted of sale of controlled substance, for which he had three subsequent probation violations,
resulting, ultimately, in his being probation being revoked in full. He was also convicted of sale of a
controlled substance and illegal use of a communication device, which resulted in a sentence of 10 years
in prison, followed by 4 years probation.
You may be inclined to pass Mr. Johnsons situation off as being merely drug-related charges. But
then he has also been convicted of theft by receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon. For these charges he had two probation violations, with probation being ultimately
revoked.
The BPP now wants to release Mr. Johnson after his serving just slightly more than a third of his 10 year
sentence. His probation violation was supposed to run concurrently with his 10 year sentence on one of
the other charges, yet BPP proposes to parole him how.
If you do that, what happens to the idea that you will rewarded when you follow the law, and punished
when you dont? If the justice system loses that tool and can no longer caution a young kid that bad
behavior is punished, and worse behavior is punished more, how can you possibly expect the kid to
learn how to behave?
Please dont release Mr. Johnson. I, and many others, strongly object to him being released
prematurely.
Thank you.
Tom Bordeaux
City of Savannah
Alderman-at-Large, Post 2
Noah Abrams
Assistant District Attorney
Counter Narcotics Team
Eastern Judicial Circuit
912-652-3914
_______
From: Thurman Henderson [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2015 11:00 AM
To: Noah Abrams <[email protected]>
Cc: Greg McConnell <[email protected]>; Meg Heap <[email protected]>
Sincerely,
Thurman L. Henderson
Executive Special Assistant to the Board