Gov. Healey opposes parole for man who killed state trooper in 1983

The governor took the uncommon step this week of formally weighing in on a decision before the Parole Board, urging its members to reject the release of a man convicted of murdering a state trooper 43 years ago.

Jose Colon was 20 when he was charged, along with two others, with shooting to death State Trooper George Hanna in the parking lot of an Auburn liquor store on Feb. 26, 1983. Colon was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and Hanna's line-of-duty death inspired the state to name its most prestigious law enforcement honor in his name.

But Colon became eligible for release when the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in January 2024 that it was a cruel or unusual punishment to impose a life sentence on offenders aged 18 to 20 at the time of their crimes. Hanna's family began airing their opposition to Colon's parole last year and has been lobbying for the board to deny his release.

Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat and former state attorney general who as governor has been supportive of many pardons and other clemency, added her voice to that opposition in a Tuesday letter to the Parole Board. Colon is set to have a hearing before the board in Natick on Thursday.

"Given the extraordinary significance this case holds for our state, I believe it is necessary to voice my clear and unequivocal opposition to Jose Colon's release," Healey wrote. She added, "This offense inflicted profound and lasting harm. In a civil society, law enforcement officers uphold the laws that allow our communities to live in peace and safety. The intentional killing of an officer in the line of duty is not only a brutal crime against one person; it is a violent assault on the rule of law and on the institutions the public depends on for safety and justice."

Healey's office said it is rare for her to weigh in on Parole Board decisions. The governor said in her letter that she did not want to "substitute my judgment for yours" but also that she thinks releasing the person who killed a trooper the state holds "as a symbol of honor and valor ... would diminish the meaning of the very legacy we continue to uphold and would send a dangerous signal that deliberate killing of a police officer is anything less than the most heinous of crimes."

Since the award was established in his name in 1983, 190 law enforcement officers have received the Hanna Award Medal of Honor, Healey said. Hanna's daughters, Deborah and Kimberly, present the awards alongside the governor at the annual ceremony in the House Chamber. Healey said she has "witnessed the pain they continue to endure because of their father’s brutal murder" as she has sat with them at the last 10 awards ceremonies.

Healey has pardoned or recommended pardoning more than two dozen people since taking office and also issued a blanket pardon that covered hundreds of thousands of people with misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions in Massachusetts.

Pardons grant official forgiveness for crimes and commutations can lessen the sentences of convicted people. Parole, meanwhile, is the process by which eligible inmates can be released before their sentence expires, usually with requirements for supervision and specific conditions of behavior.

Colon's hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the Parole Board's central office, 12 Mercer Road in Natick. Rep. Steve Xiarhos, the former deputy chief of the Yarmouth Police Department, said Hanna's daughters will be leading a stand-out in front of the Parole Board building Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

"I remember the day Trooper Hanna was murdered in February 1983. I was a young Yarmouth patrol officer that day, and the memory of it is still with me," the Republican said on Facebook, adding his opposition to Colon's parole.