Rockland County officials are expressing outrage after paroled murderer Robert McCain was arrested for the second time in four months, following yet another violent incident involving a woman.
McCain, convicted in the 1980 murder of 16-year-old Paula Bohovesky of Pearl River, was released on parole earlier this year despite strong opposition from local leaders, law enforcement, and community members.
According to police in Peekskill, McCain was arrested last week and charged with second-degree aggravated harassment and petit larceny after he allegedly threatened a woman, telling her that her mother would not find her body “for a decade,” before stealing her license plate. Earlier this year, he was arrested for forcible touching at a dog park in Cortlandt.
Rockland County Executive Ed Day sharply condemned the Parole Board, calling McCain’s latest arrest “a direct consequence of the Board’s reckless decision” to release a violent offender with a clear history of danger.
“Once again, Robert McCain has proven exactly why he should never have been released,” Day said. “If any member responsible for that decision remains on the Board, I renew my call for their immediate resignation. Their failure endangered the public, and I will continue fighting for a justice system that puts victims and community safety first, not violent offenders.”
Congressman Mike Lawler also issued a statement blasting the Parole Board’s judgment, noting that he opposed McCain’s release when he was still in the State Assembly.
“McCain’s latest arrest makes one thing clear: he should never have been released. The Parole Board’s reckless decision has put New Yorkers at risk, and those responsible should resign in disgrace immediately,” Lawler said.
New York State Senator Bill Weber likewise condemned the Board and Governor Hochul’s administration, saying the case reflects systemic failure at the highest levels of state government.
“Kathy Hochul’s parole board has once again failed New Yorkers. Robert McCain, who was imprisoned in 1980 for the brutal murder of 16-year-old Paula Bohovesky in Pearl River, went on to commit three additional crimes within just a few months of his release from prison — yet he has now been released back onto the streets.
“My efforts to pass Paula’s Law (Senate Bill S1933), named in Paula Bohovesky’s memory and designed to ensure that anyone who molests and then murders a child under eighteen is never released from prison, have been repeatedly blocked by the radicals running Albany.
“New Yorkers deserve better,” Weber said.
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There was another super long-term inmate, Harvey Marcelin, that got out in his 80’s and decapitated yet another victim about 3 years ago and is currently facing charges. On the other hand, many inmates have been released that haven’t capitulated into their former ways and have been a credit to the popular conception of rehabilitation. Perhaps a middle ground could be reached, e.g. a secured area where these types are released to while still being constantly monitored, that affords them increased freedom over prison type environs while still protecting the general public from the perhaps the increased possibilities of their relapsing back into their former criminal mens rea. This would have to be subjected to very careful consideration on a case-by-case basis.