Paroled Sex Offender Murders Woman

(White Plains, New York) A 43-year-old convicted rapist, Phillip Grant, spent 23 years in Sing Sing prison before mandatory parole in 2003. As a Level 3 (high risk) Sex Offender, he was required per Megan's law to check in with the police every 90 days which he did, however, having parole supervision by an officer checking on him lasted for only two months after his release.

Shortly after 1PM on Wednesday, at the Galleria Mall municipal parking garage in White Plains, Grant stabbed 56-year-old legal secretary, Concetta Russo Carriero, with a 5-inch steak knife. Carriero was pronounced dead less than an hour later at the White Plains Hospital. Grant was arrested moments after the stabbing based on an eyewitness description.

Grant, who is black, told police that he had planned to kill a white woman. Consequently, the Westchester County District Attorney, Jeanine Pirro, is contemplating prosecuting Grant for a hate crime in addition to murder.

As a reminder, Jeanine Pirro recently announced that she won't seek reelection as District Attorney, preferring to pursue a more prominent political office. She's been mentioned as the possible Republican opponent against incumbent Senator Hillary Clinton. Pirro will have the opportunity to raise her political image with a high-profile murder case. Expect it to happen.

By odd chance, Grant's murder case is the perfect vehicle for enhanced media exposure for Pirro. If Grant, a black man, is charged with a hate crime against a white woman, the sensitivities of civil rights advocates are sure to be ignited, thereby assuring television face time for many people in addition to Jeanine Pirro. Historically, civil rights activists haven't entertained the notion that hate crimes can be committed by black people.

Finally, questions beg answers. How could a high-risk sex offender be released on mandatory parole and not have anybody checking on him? Grant had been judged as a danger to society, so it would seem necessary to watch him all of the time. And, what in the world makes parole mandatory when the convict is still deemed a threat? More prudent would be mandatory incarceration.

Oh, by the way, Grant had been denied parole nine times before his release. I believe the denials totaled at least one too few.