When a serial killer is sentenced to life imprisonment – that doesn’t always mean life. Many cold-blooded killers get to see the parole board every two years. Some states in the U.S. also have indeterminate sentencing and offer “Good time credits” which means even if they have been sentenced to life; they might actually be out in a few years.
Public opinion is divided; should a serial killer be awarded a future that he denied his victims? How will the families of the deceased feel when the murderer who stole the life of a loved one is walking around freely in society?
According to the Los Angeles Times:
“A 1993 Justice Department survey revealed that 59% of people polled considered death the proper punishment for murder; 29% preferred life without parole. Another 10% replied that punishment should depend on circumstances, while only 1% favored neither death nor life without parole.”
These following serial killers will all be eligible for parole soon. For many, it’s a deeply disturbing thought that in the near future, they might be walking amongst us once again.
6. David Berkowitz in May 2022
From late 1975 through 1977; a serial killer who was known as “Son of Sam” murdered half a dozen people and wounded ten others.
He stabbed and shot his victims who were mostly parked in Lover’s Lanes. Following the murders, he contacted the media to spread the word that he would kill again. His reign of terror gripped New York and many were too afraid to leave their homes at night.
Then the real serial killer was revealed to be the seemingly shy, reserved, and politely-spoken David Berkowitz.
Berkowitz is now 68-years-old and he is currently imprisoned at Shawangunk Correctional Facility. Every two years, the man who is also known as “The .44 Caliber Killer”, faces the parole board. In 2012, his parole notes praised his “significant prison ministry, clean disciplinary record, and expression of remorse.”
After 40 years behind bars, Berkowitz has said Jesus Christ has forgiven him and rebranded as “Son of Hope”. In 2006, he published his prison journals claiming irrefutable evidence that God has indeed worked miracles on his life.
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5. Don Miller in August 2022
Serial killer Don Miller killed four women between January 1977 and August 1978 in Delta Township, Michigan. He was sentenced to just 10 to 15 years in prison as he cooperated with police in locating the bodies of two victims; 27-year-old Marita Choquette and 21-year-old Wendy Bush.
Miller was previously denied parole and Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon wrote in a letter to the parole board:
“I believe the Parole Board correctly decided in 2016 that Miller was not a suitable candidate for community-based parole supervision and nothing has changed in these years to change that belief for me.”
Attorney General Dana Nessel also stated that she still believes that Miller is a dangerous predator and a high risk to society. She writes:
“The release of Don Miller will absolutely endanger this community from the moment he steps outside prison walls. The horrific details of his crimes are enough to prove that this man is where he belongs, behind bars, ensuring he can never again harm any person.”
In June 2021, Miller was denied parole for the ninth time and will be eligible again for parole no later than August 2022. In the year 2031, he would have served his full sentence.
4. Luis Garavito in 2023
Colombian serial killer Luis Alfredo Garavito admitted to the rape, torture, and murder of 138 boys and teenagers age 6 to 16-years-old. Although the real victim count is believed to exceed 300 innocent lives.
Many of his victims were poor, homeless, or orphaned. Garavito was able to get away with the murders for so long because the boys were never reported as missing persons. In the area, police knew they were looking for a cold-blooded killer they nicknamed “La Bestia” (“The Beast”).
Garavito was arrested on April 22nd, 1999, on separate charges of attempted rape. Garavito had a rare eye condition and he required specifically designed glasses for his condition. These particular glasses were found at the site of a mass grave.
Eventually, the serial killer confessed and was sentenced to 1,853 years in prison. However, Colombian law limits imprisonment to 40 years – and because Garavito helped police find the victims’ bodies, his sentence was further reduced to 22 years.
He is scheduled to become eligible for parole in 2023. Currently, nearly 250 people have signed a petition titled: “Do Not Release Luis Garavito”.
3. Paul Denyer in June 2023
Australian serial killer Paul Denyer murdered three young women within the Frankston, Victoria area. He was 21-years-old at the time of the murders and later nicknamed the “Frankston Serial Killer”.
Denyer abducted his victims off the street and slashed at their throats with a knife. The motivation behind his crimes was that he hated women. He was finally caught when one intended victim was able to break free and notify the police.
During his police interview, he stated:
POLICE: Can you explain why we have women victims?
DENYER: I just hate them.
POLICE: I beg your pardon.
DENYER: I hate them.
POLICE: Those particular girls or women in general?
DENYER: General.
Behind bars, Denyer has requested gender reassignment because he wished to be legally placed in a women’s prison and has informally changed his name to “Paula.”
Denyer was originally sentenced to life without parole before a non-parole period of 30 years was set on appeal, making him eligible for release on June 10th, 2023.
2. Edmund Kemper in July 2024
Edmund Kemper murdered 10 people between 1964 and 1973. Also known as the ‘Co-ed Killer’, he targeted mainly female hitchhikers; he also killed his paternal grandparents and his own mother.
Kemper later told investigators the killings were impulsive – following yet another fight with his mother, he would leave the house and kill another innocent victim. Former FBI agent John Douglas himself said if Kemper’s mother wasn’t there, he would not have turned out to be a serial killer.
Kemper took the bodies of many of his victims home with him, where he decapitated, dismembered, and violated their corpses. After he murdered his mother, he pinned her head against the wall and screamed and threw darts at it.
After killing his mother, he handed himself over to the police and has since been incarcerated at Vacaville State Prison.
Behind bars, Kemper has spent more than 5,000 hours in a booth before a microphone in the last 10 years and has more than four million feet of tape and several hundred books to his credit. He received two large trophies for his dedication to recording books and the tapes have gone on to assist blind men, women, and children all over America.
The serial killer said, “I can’t begin to tell you what this has meant to me, to be able to do something constructive for someone else, to be appreciated by so many people, the good feeling it gives me after what I have done.”
Kemper will be eligible for parole again in July 2024. He will be 75 years old.
1. Herbert Mullin in 2028
In the early 1970s, Herbert Mullin killed 13 people in California. Mullin was extremely bright and voted “most likely to succeed” in High School. Then by the age of 36-years-old, he was a serial killer who bludgeoned, stabbed, and shot his victims.
According to FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler, Mullin was a paranoid schizophrenic; likely as a result of his LSD consumption throughout his teenage years. Mullin believed his killings prevented earthquakes in California and were, therefore, justified. What reinstated his belief, is the fact there were no earthquakes during his crimes, but an earthquake hit soon after his arrest.
Mullin later stated: “We human beings, through the history of the world, have prevented our continent from cataclysms by murder. In other words, a minor natural disaster avoids a major natural disaster.”
In 1973, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Since 1980, he has been denied parole ten times and his next parole hearing will take place in 2028.
Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell stated:
“Mr. Mullin continues to blame others for his actions. He lacks insight and shows no true remorse for these brutal murders. To this day, Mr. Mullin continues to pose as high of a risk to the community as he did during his crime spree in 1972 and 1973 if he were released.”
Mullin is currently incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison, California. He is 74 years old.
