Convicted Cop Killer Paroled for 1973 Murder of Chicago Police Officer

Joseph Bigsby was 18 years old when he was convicted of killing Chicago Police Officer Edward Barron in 1973 and sentenced to 200 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Despite the protestations of over 23 uniformed police officers, representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police and the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, as well as Officer Barron’s former partner, Bigsby, now 58, was granted parole on Thursday morning.

“Today’s decision is an affront to the entire law enforcement community but especially to the dedicated men and women of the Chicago Police Department, who risk their lives and personal well-being daily as they strive to better our city and ensure the safety of our communities,” Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said in a written statement.

Barron was 36 years old when he was shot in the head while pursuing the then 16-year-old Bigsby after the teen had just robbed two people at gunpoint on Sept. 28, 1973. Barron was a patrol officer assigned in the South Chicago District, when he and his partner, Officer Daniel Abate, responded to a robbery in progress near the 8000 block of South Kingston Avenue.

A 911 caller reported that his 67-year-old neighbor was being held up at gunpoint. During the same incident, Bigsby also robbed another innocent bystander who just happened to come across the scene.

When Barron and Abate arrived, they spotted Bigsby in a gangway. Despite orders to stop, Bigsby turned around and fired one shot, fatally wounding Barron. Abate fired back injuring Bigsby. Tragically, Barron died of his wound, leaving behind a wife and a son and daughter, then 14 and 13.

A funeral Mass was held for Barron at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. He was laid to rest in St. Mary’s Cemetery, according to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.

The total proceeds of the two robberies netted Bigsby $4.10 and a watch, according to news reports of the time. Bigsby was convicted of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and two counts of armed robbery.

Bigsby was handed a 200-year sentence, which he has been serving out in the Danville Correctional Center. Sentences for the other offenses were concurrent with the sentence he received for the murder.

Barron’s fellow officers have been making the sojourn on chartered bus to Bigsby’s parole hearings as a silent, visual reminder to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board that offenders convicted of killing police officers should serve their full sentences and be denied early parole.

McCarthy called the prisoner review board’s decision on Thursday “incomprehensible” and an “absolute travesty.”

“Bigsby, who has served less than 40 percent of his original sentence, will now be able to enjoy the freedoms and pleasures of life, things which he readily denied Officer Barron when he murdered him,” the Chicago police superintendent said.

Bigsby’s original projected parole date was June 27, 2067. IDOC records indicate that Bigsby was released from prison on Thursday.