Poll: Should William Heirens be granted Parole?

I just learned about this case watching American Justice.  It sickens me to think that this man is still sitting in jail.  I don't claim to truly know whether or not he did what he is accused of doing, but there is a reasonable doubt and too many wrongs in the way the case was handled.  Leaving that all behind, this man has no history of violence while incarcarated.  He has sought to better himself the entire time he's been behind bars.  It is a sin that he is still behind bars.  I pray he gets to take that walk he so desires.  I'm saddened by what I've seen today, but believe that each life has a purpose.  Maybe his purpose was to help others behind bars.  He appears to be a beacon of light and peace. 

Of course Bill should be paroled. He never did what they say he did in the first place. Ok he was'nt an angel, and should have done time for the crimes he did commit but come on...I'm 61 years of age.. Bills been in prison all my life. I've read every thing I've managed to accumilate on the internet about this case and I have a copy of Dolores's book. I've written to the parole board and I've written to Bill, and I'm proud of the fact that he's written back to me. I live in Australia, and first read about Bill in a book called "The Murder case book" edited by Colin Wilson. I immediately felt there was something not right about bills incarceration. William Heirens should be paroled.. 

 

Absolutely! There is no doubt in my mind that he never commited the awful crimes he is accused to. There was so much corruption in his case, from the police to the prosecutors and of course the media. Mr. Heirens is a very gentle and wonderful man. The world has been cheated of the good this man would have done had he not been incarcerated. My heart breaks when I think about all he has been through and all he has missed. Remarkably, he is still a man who has the capacity to love and show kindness. You would think he would be angry and full of bitterness, but he is not. 
          If anyone visting this site has not read Dolores Kennedy's book, I encourage you to do so. What happened and is still happening to Mr. Heirens is a true injustice that should make every American mad. It makes me sad to think that he quite probably will die in prison. It is not right! I wish that I could change what happened. I would be elated if he would be granted parole this year. I am praying for a miracle.

For Gods sake .... he killed a 6 year old child! He should think himself extremely fortunate that his lawers managed to do a deal and save him from the electric chair. He was given 3 consecutive life sentences and should serve the whole of one of them.

This is to pacdedlagrange
                    Hello, sir. I am just curious, Have you taken the time to read about Mr. Heirens case? If not, please do so. True TV.com is a good place to start. If I felt for a second that he killed a 6 year child I would whole heartledly agree with you. I am a mother of a 5 and 6 year old myself. Your reaction is a natural reaction, but there is much more to this story than meets the eye. I think you may be surprised.

Thanks,
Melissa 

This is to pacdedlagrange
He only confessed because he knew he would be convicted and put to death if he pleaded not guilty. It's a good thing he did too, because he would have been executed within a year if he hadn't struck the plea deal.

I was also blown away when Steve Hodell named his late father, Dr. George Hodell, as another suspect in the Degnan and possibly all the Lipstick cases. The street Elizabeth Short was found on, Norton Street, turns into Degnan Avenue. crazy.

Release this poor old man.

Hi, Voodoo. Thanks for your comment. I agree with you, I thought the whole George Hodell thing was very interesting. Of course another man confessed to killing Suzanne Degnan, a child molester. His condession was dismissed because they already had Bill Heirens behind bars. I truely feel for the Degnan family, but keeping the wrong man locked up is compounding the tragedy. It is sad that the real killers were never brought to justice-at least here on Earth anyway. Feel free to contact me if you would like. Take care.

Melissa
malred5@yahoo.com

My heart just breaks for him.  I just watched American Justice on TV.  There was no justice for Mr. Hierens.  He has been railroaded and taken advantage of for his youth.  I pray that this man will be able to be freed.  He has paid more of a price than criminals accused of the same or worse.  Please keep trying for his sake.  If all fails, then he has apparently made his life worth something while imprisoned.

Undecided 9% No 9% Yes 82% 11 people have voted
Given a fully studied facts of the case, should Mr. Heirens be granted parole?

-bkzoner

This is a heartbreaking case that I sincerely hope gets corrected before it's too late. I just heard about this story on American Justice, but that was filmed in 2002----8 yrs ago---and he's STILL in prison. I can't believe this!  What dont they understand about what was done here. Why can't they take a closer look and accept the fact that he was wrongly accused and incarcerated. I'm sad that it appears  I am too late to write anyone about this, since his parole hearing was in July of this year. There HAS to be SOMETHING we can do to change this situation.

I keep reading that everyone agrees he should be released but HOW?  Is there someone you can write to or call?  Time is slipping away from this man.

tps; I was told there's nothing really to be done. but that we can write him a letter. I was given the address. I'll post it a little later. They are trying to get another parole hearing and then the would see if they can get him into a decent nursing home. We can give him support.
I wanna do like, flyers, and something more aggressive to get some quick change. I don't see how he  will ever get free otherwise. I guess we should write our Governer, and his Governer, and his parole board..........

Thank you so much for your reply.  It would be wonderful if you could copy your flyer for me and I will distribute to everyone I know.  I will write a letter on his behalf and keep him in my thoughts.
Tps2005

Thank you for responding. We can see if we can get a number of people to copy and distribute, and cover more ground. Thank you for being willing to help!

By the way, the address of Bill Heirens, if you'd like to write him, is;
P.O box 1200 c-06103
Dixon, IL 61021

Thanks.  I will write and offer support.

This is a horrible injustice. He should definitely have been released for these crimes he CLEARLY did not commit. Has any one of these people that has denied him an actual acquittal of these charges really looked into the case? Forget parole. He has not commited this crime to even need to go before the parole board to beg for an early release. He needs to be acquitted of these murder charges and given the small amount of time he has left to have his freedom. I cant even think of how they can repay him for what they have taken from him. They have taken his life and someone needs to be in jail for this injustice.

Hi,
Yes it is an injustice.  Tell people and speak on his behalf.  His time is running out.  He has spent most of his life in jail and is now an old man.  It would be so wonderful if he could smell the free air before he dies.  It sounds like he has made the most out of the life that was dealt to him.  Think what he could have done if he was able to be free!
Tps2005

Hi everyone!!!!

Tomorrow is Mr. Heirens 81st birthday. I wish so much that I could go visit him and spend the day with him. I just live too far away for that to be possible. I had  hoped he would not have to spend another birthday in that place, but I knew in my heart he would. He has been on my mind alot lately and sometimes I have dreams about seeing him. The last time I heard from him was 3 weeks ago from a letter. He said he was doing ok. I am a little more worried about him because his friend Jim just got out of prison. I know it must be another blow to loose Jim, something that he has had to deal with many times over the years. Jim was a big help and a great friend to him too.
I am hoping to get a call from Mr. Heirens tomorrow. If he calls I will let everyone know how he is.
Welcome to all the new members!
God Bless y'all!
Melissa

Shoud he be paroled ???Is the pope a catholic!!I have just watched a documentary here in the Uk and feel profoundly sorry that he has spent his life behind bars with no solid proof that he committed any crime apart from minor offences of breaking and entering and petty theft.Yes he does seem to be a mild mannered gentleman and on that point ,many psychopaths can appear that way and learn to manipulate the system and even Medical staff.That aside there is no concrete evidence that he committed the crimes and that evidence today would not even proceed to a court trial.The initial evidence I understand no longer exists,but surely he should be granted a pardon or re trial ,on the grounds that he never had a fair trial in the first instance and that he has more than paid his dues.I understand the family of the victims are happy he is behind bars ,but this is no comfort if there is even the slightest doubt that they got the wrong man.