Bell (NY Dept. of Corrections photo)
SHAWANGUNK – Convicted cop killer Herman Bell, 70, walked out of the state’s Shawangunk Correctional Facility late Friday afternoon after serving 44 years for killing two New York City police officers and a third officer in California in the early 1970s.
His release was opposed by the New York State Corrections Officer and Police Benevolent Association.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro put Bell’s release squarely on Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“Bell murdered three police officers in cold blood, a crime for which, even life without parole doesn’t seem to be an adequate punishment,” Molinaro said. Bell’s release is “a living and breathing indictment of a Cuomo administration that is everyday more untethered from the reality experienced by New Yorkers. Bell’s release is an insult to the victims’ families, our brave law enforcement community and to our collective sense of what is right.”
Molinaro said as Cuomo grants Bell freedom, “he rips away any peace of mind for the families of Herman Bell’s victims. Incredibly, the governor lacks the courage to even meet with the victims’ families; instead, he shirks his responsibility as he cowers behind the parole board’s so-called independence.”
