Parole Hearing For Brinks Robbery Driver Judith Clark

Judith Clark, serving a 75-year-to-life sentence for her participation in the deadly armored car robbery in Rockland County in 1981, will receive a new parole hearing.

A judge in New York City ordered it last week.

According to news reports, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice John Kelley said the State Parole Board “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” in 2017 and gave too much weight to letters against paroling the former Weather Underground member. It was her first time before the New York state parole board. Her sentence had been commuted that January. She sued after being turned down, saying she was being treated “as a symbol of crime rather than as an individual.”

Clark was sentenced to 75-years-to-life for her role as driver in the holdup of a Brinks armored car at the Nanuet Mall. A Brinks guard, Peter Paige, was killed at the scene. Two Nyack police officers, Sgt. Edward O'Grady and Officer Waverly "Chipper" Brown, were killed at a roadblock minutes later. She was not alleged to have fired a weapon.

Under her original sentence, Clark wouldn't have been eligible for parole till she was 106. The commutation in January 2017 followed repeated requests for clemency.

The judge's decision infuriated Rockland County Executive Ed Day. In a statement he said:

To allow Judith Clark, a domestic terrorist, to walk free now would be a cruel and unjust slap in the face to the families of Sergeant Edward O'Grady, Officer Waverly "Chipper" Brown and Brinks guard Peter Paige. The conduct of Judith Clark - and her fellow radicals - was so abhorrent, it simply warrants the imposition of life in prison to ensure that justice is served and society is protected. As a member of law enforcement at the time of this incident, I strongly believe Clark deserves the same sentence she inflicted on her victims. It was clearly the intention of the presiding Justice, at the time, that this woman spend the rest of her life behind bars to pay her debt to society and I see no reason to second guess that decision now.

SEE ALSO:

• Brinks Memorial Recalls Grim Tragedy
• Cuomo Denies Clemency Petition for Brinks Robbery Driver
• Brinks Robbery Mastermind Denied Parole
• Domestic Terrorist's Sentence Commuted: Cuomo
• Driver in Deadly NY Brinks Robbery Denied Parole