NYPD Widows Join Union in Pressing to Keep Cop Killers in Jail

Dozens of widows of NYPD officers slain in the line of duty joined the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association in demanding that a loophole that lets cop killers back on the streets be fixed, according to the New York Post .

The longest sentence for criminals who killed cops before 2005 was 25 years to life. Those killers — who are eligible for parole after serving 25 years — are now benefiting from 2011 guidelines that look at what criminals have been doing since their incarceration, rather than just the original crime.

"Under new parole guidelines, the nature of the crime, regardless of how heinous, barbaric, sadistic or depraved, is no longer a factor," said PBA President Patrick J. Lynch at a press conference. "The guidelines have been reconfigured so if a killer admits to the crime and says they’re sorry, the jail doors slide open."

Lynch urged Governor Andrew Cuomo and other elected officials to give the families of officers who were slain years ago the same justice that would be demanded if a cop was killed on duty today.

A spokesman for Governor Cuomo told The Post in a statement that "the governor and the Legislature were responsible for reforms in 2011 that strengthened New York’s parole system, and further, the Governor proposed determinate sentencing two years ago but that effort was rejected by the Legislature. We of course remain open to considering any further amendments to the law that are constitutional and advance public safety."