Nassau cop killer denied parole for fifth time
The gunman who killed a Nassau County cop in 1975 after a botched burglary at a West Hempstead boutique has been denied parole for the fifth time.
State parole commissioners ruled this week that releasing John MacKenzie, who has served 33 years of a 25-years-to-life sentence in the death of Patrolman Matthew Giglio, would "not be compatible with the welfare of society at large and would tend to deprecate the seriousness" of the crime "and undermine respect for the law."
The killing for which MacKenzie was convicted happened in October 1975, when MacKenzie, then 29 and of Whitestone, was confronted by Giglio, 35, at the burglary scene. MacKenzie fired his gun.
Giglio's aorta and colon were ruptured and his leg had to be amputated. Weeks after the shooting, Giglio became the 24th Nassau cop to die in the line of duty. He left behind three children and a wife.
Giglio's survivors and police union have opposed paroling MacKenzie. A parole spokeswoman said about 50 people wrote in favor of paroling MacKenzie; more than 1,000 wrote in opposition.
During parole hearings dating back to 2000, MacKenzie, now 62, has said he is remorseful and rehabilitated, pointing to his spotless disciplinary record and degrees earned in prison.
Like many other of the state's most violent felons denied parole, MacKenzie has challenged his denials in court, arguing that the state Division of Parole is acting illegally by giving undue weight to the violence of his crime and not to factors like remorse, rehabilitation and the likelihood of recidivism.
MacKenzie is imprisoned at the medium-security Woodbourne Correctional Facility in upstate Sullivan County. He is scheduled for a sixth parole hearing in 2010, records show.
Posted Saturday, March 14, 2009
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