A habitual offender sentenced to two life sentences has been granted parole — again.
Edward Simpson was granted parole on May 13 after a hearing in January. He will first spend 6 months in lower security.
But it’s not the first time Simpson has been given parole.
In 1990, Simpson was given a 10 year Concord sentence for unarmed robbery. A year later, he was given parole. About six months after that, he was arrested for unarmed robbery in Cambridge.
At about 1 a.m. on Nov. 16, 1991, Simpson, broke a window in a home while a woman was asleep in bed with her 9-year-old daughter. The woman’s husband was away on a business trip.
Simpson then went into the woman’s bedroom. The woman was able to get a good look at Simpson as the hallway was well lit, the parole board stated.
Simpson grabbed the phone from the woman and pushed her down on the bed. He went into her closet, took her purse, and emptied the contents onto the bed. He ripped open her wallet and took about $250.
He then demanded more money and looked around the room, including under the mattress, before leaving. Once he left, she called the police.
Two days later, Simpson attempted to break into the same woman’s apartment. An upstairs neighbor called police when Simpson was observed peering into, and trying to open, the woman’s apartment windows from outside.
Simpson gave a false name and false information when questioned by police. The upstairs neighbor and the woman positively identified Simpson.
He was convicted and sentenced to serve 6 to 10 years in prison for unarmed robbery, 3 to 5 years for attempted breaking and entering, and a 10 to 12 year suspended sentence for burglary.
In 1995, he was given parole again. But his parole was revoked again in 1997, when he was arrested for a burglary in Brockton.
On March 21, 1997, Mr. Simpson smashed a window and broke into a home on Prospect Street in Brockton. He confronted the resident who had been asleep and demanded money. He then took a wallet from the bedroom nightstand and left the house through the window he had smashed.
On Feb. 11, 2000, Simpson was found guilty after trial for burglary and for being a habitual offender. He was sentenced to serve life in prison.
Since then, he has appeared in front of the parole board four times during his 28 years of incarceration for the burglary.
He has been sober for 33 months and has continued with self-development to include mental health treatment and relapse prevention, the parole board stated.
His mother spoke in favor of parole, while Plymouth District Assistant District Attorney Karen Palumbo was against it.
The Board concluded that Simpson has demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.
Although, it was not unanimous. One board member voted to deny parole with a review in 2 years.
