The suspect in last week’s brutal slaying of a Baltimore tech entrepreneur was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2015 but will be out in 2022 — not as a result of parole but because of a system of earned credit for good behavior that has become more liberal in recent years.
Jason Billingsley, 32, was taken into custody without incident in Bowie, Maryland, late Wednesday after being named the prime suspect in the slaying of 26-year-old Pava LaPere.
Police believe he tricked the founder of EcoMap Technologies into letting him into his apartment building by pretending he had forgotten his keys.
Billingsley, who previously pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and second-degree assault in 2009 and 2011, respectively, before serving time behind bars for raping a 25-year-old woman in 2013, had applied for parole and was denied in 2020, the Baltimore Banner first reporting times.
He appealed the decision and was denied again, according to David Blumberg, longtime chairman of the state parole commission.
By October 2022, he had earned enough “reduction credits” to trigger mandatory parole after serving about nine years and three months of what had been a 14-year sentence.
The accused killer was charged with first-degree sex offenses in July 2013 and pleaded guilty in February 2015.
His sentence, dated when he was first jailed after his arrest, calls for a 30-year term, but with 16 years of that term suspended.
Jason Billingsley, 32, was arrested in Bowie, Maryland on Wednesday after being named the prime suspect in the murder of 26-year-old Pava LaPere. Baltimore PD/MEGA
He exited earlier than expected by accumulating enough depreciation credits.
The majority of states allow inmates to have their sentences reduced for good behavior and participation in work programs.
But thanks to a criminal justice reform initiative called the Justice Reinvestment Act that was passed in 2011 and adopted by many states, including Maryland, inmates can cut their prison time in half by earning those credits.
Many of the activists pushing for and developing the Justice Reinvestment Act are connected to groups like the Safety and Justice Action Fund that are campaigning for progressive district attorneys across the country.
They also have ties to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which coined the term “justice reinvestment” in 2003 as part of a prison reform campaign.
Police believe he tricked the founder of EcoMap Technologies into letting him into his apartment building by pretending he had forgotten his keys.MEGA
Maryland inmates can earn up to 30 days a month under the “reduction credit” system, according to a 2020 state report.
Those serving sentences for violent crimes, major drug convictions or sex offenses can receive up to 20 days a month.
They get credit for work assignments, education and special projects, including academic programs and other job details.
But even the authors of the 2020 report seem to acknowledge the depreciation credit system has some quirks.
“Maryland’s depreciation credit system has evolved over time to become a unique and complex scheme,” Claire E. Rossmark wrote in the report.
Billingsley previously pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and second-degree assault in 2009 and 2011 before serving time behind bars for raping a 25-year-old woman in 2013. Baltimore Police Department
“This system is administered by the Commitment Unit in DOC. This state is in line with most other states in allowing good behavior credit as well as credit for time earned to reduce an inmate’s incarceration period…. The Justice Reinvestment Act expands the availability of reduction credits so that many State correctional facility inmates can reduce their incarceration time by 50% through good behavior and program participation.”
Police said last week that Billingsley — who was released on mandatory supervision after completing a rape sentence less than a year ago — was already being hunted when he was suspected of killing LaPere, the CEO who was on Forbes’ “30 under 30” list this year for social impact.
A warrant was issued for Billingsley within hours of the September 19 attack that involved the “targeted” rape with a firearm of a woman who was also set on fire along with a man who was with her.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pound suspect knew the victim in a previous attack and was allowed into the apartment where the crime took place, acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said, according to CBS News.
Police began tracking Billingsley’s phone, financial transactions and other possible leads on Sept. 20 — but he eluded arrest, despite officers frequently coming within steps of his location, Worley said.
A few days into the hunt, LaPere was found beaten to death on the roof of his Mount Vernon apartment building.
Her body was found Monday – six days after the previous attack – but police believe she may have been killed on Friday.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
