© Richard B. Levine
NY: In advance of earnings call
ALBANY, N.Y. (77WABC/AP) — Former Weather Underground radical David Gilbert has been granted parole after 40 years behind bars for his role in a deadly 1981 Brink’s robbery that was a violent echo of left-wing extremism born in the 1960s, the state corrections department said Tuesday.
Gilbert, 76, has been imprisoned since shortly after the infamously botched armored car robbery in which a guard and two police officers were killed. He became eligible for parole only after his 75 years-to-life sentence was shortened by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in August, hours before he left office.
Gilbert appeared before the state parole board Oct. 19 and was subsequently granted parole, Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the New York state corrections department, said Tuesday.
He will be able to leave Shawangunk Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley next month.
New York State Assemblyman Mike Lawler slammed the decision, calling it a slap in the face to the families who lost those in the 1981 incident.
My statement on the decision of the NYS Parole Board to release domestic terrorist David Gilbert: pic.twitter.com/YZB26BIAy8
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) October 26, 2021
“David Gilbert was part of a terrorist group that assassinated 2 police officers and a Brink’s security guard in one of the most heinous domestic terror attacks in New York State,” Lawler said in a statement. “He belongs in jail for the rest of his life. My heart breaks for the families and our community.”
“In the coming weeks, I will be introducing legislation to change the makeup of the Parole Board, limit the powers of the Governor, and ensure that cop-killers remain in prison, where they belong, for the rest of their lives,” Lawler added. “It is my hope that New Yorkers react accordingly and vote these ‘woke’ politicians out of office next November — it is the only way to stop this insanity.”
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