Minnesota murder victim's family retraumatized during parole process
Granting parole to a prisoner is a big decision that makes a big impact. Over the past year in Minnesota, the responsibility was turned over to citizens as part of new legislation.
It used to be up to the commissioner of the Department of Corrections.
So far, the Supervised Release Board has paroled a higher percentage of prisoners than any commissioner in the past 30 years. Current Commissioner Paul Schnell has reviewed the most cases, paroling nearly 17% of them.
But one family says those statistics don't tell the whole story.
The family of Mary Ann Hagford sits around a picnic table sharing memories of their sister and aunt as they wait for the parole hearing for her killer to start.
"That's all we all we got, these pictures, these memories. She was young, 28, was just starting her life," brother Bob Hagford said.
The grief wells up in their chests, the loss still present.
"Boy, I'm gonna have a hard time with this, but yeah, Mary Ann was the youngest one in the bunch," Bob Hagford said.
It was just before Christmas 1993. Mary Ann Hagford's live-in boyfriend, Paul Wilson, shot her in the head, killing her. They'd been drinking and had an argument in their Crystal, Minnesota, home over a Christmas tree.
"There's not a lot of words, other than you're never going to see her," Bob Hagford said.
A jury found Wilson guilty of first-degree premeditated murder. The judge sentenced him to life, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
They say Mary Ann Hagford's murder tore their family apart.
"I was 14 when it happened. Nobody was around after this happened. Everyone was divided," nephew Michael Hagford said.
The siblings found their way back to each other and are united in their desire for Wilson to stay in prison.
For them, his apology letter came too late.
"You'd figure there'd be remorse, days after, weeks after, you know, once you sober up. And we didn't get that for 20 years," Michael Hagford said.
The family says they weren't notified ahead of Wilson's first hearing, but were present last year when the commissioner signed off on Wilson moving to a work release program. The family opposed it.
"You come to these and you think, makes a difference. You come here and stay stuff, and it's going to mean something," brother Wayne Hagford said.
On this day, the Hagfords listened as the Supervised Release Board questioned Wilson about why he should be free.
"I believe I have grown, especially over this last year, to a person who can be a contributing member of what will be a new community," Wilson said.
His wife, whom he married soon after the trial, was by his side.
"I have done a lot of work to address emotions, to be able to be in emotions, not make them bigger than what they are sometimes and to have a choice," Wilson said.
A member of the board questioned the prior decision made about Wilson.
"Some of the things really concern me. And going back in time, I would not have voted for work release. And at this point, what are our options?" Jo Earhart said.
After some discussion and reservations, the board voted to parole Wilson.
"You can't put this genie back in the bottle, and the losses are insurmountable. And yet we want you to be successful. And we expect you to live a good life going forward," Schnell said.
"My feeling is, is that justice wasn't served. He should be in there for a long time yet, but he's going to be free now. He's got the rest of his life and Mary Ann's got nothing," Bob Hagford said.
Wilson is scheduled to be released in late August.
The Department of Corrections told WCCO victims must sign up for the notification system to be alerted about updates and hearings. .
