MONTGOMERY- A petition has been launched to oppose the granting of parole to Juan Peinado, the man who killed 11-year-old Danny Meyer in 1996 in advance of a parole hearing scheduled for August.
Danny was murdered by Peinado while the boy was on his way to an all-star baseball game in the Village of Maybrook. After 25 years of incarceration, Peinado became eligible for parole for the first time in 2021 but was denied. State law allows murderers like Peinado to have a parole hearing every two years, and accordingly, his next parole hearing is scheduled for August.
For Danny’s mother, Jill Meyer, the pain of her son’s murder still stings decades later. “My son should have played high school baseball, he should have been an Eagle Scout, he should have graduated and got married and had children of his own. Words cannot describe the pain that our family continues to feel when we consider the possibility that Danny’s killer has a chance to be freed from prison.”
“My brother had his whole life ahead of him and he was just beginning his journey when he was taken from us,” said Kristen Smith, Danny’s sister. “One person was responsible for this senseless loss of life. Justice was served 27 years ago, and continued justice was served two years ago. We are here to remind those at the parole board that our loss is permanent, and we want justice to be permanent as well.”
The family is asking for the community to reach out to the parole board ahead of Peinado’s hearing, in an effort being organized by Assemblyman Brian Maher (R, Walden).
“So many of us who are Danny’s age when he was killed and are now adults that are living the lives we are living, we can’tt help but wonder if our children would be playing with his children, if he had a family of his own, what his life would have been like,” Maher said. “It’s really difficult for Danny’s mother and his sisters, so we just try to do our best to have their back and to galvanize the community to ensure this invidual is not let free from prison.”
To sign the online petition, visit https://tinyurl.com/
The parole board also accepts online letters at https://doccs.ny.gov/form/
