Infuriating & completely unacceptable.
A Houston man convicted in 2017 for the 1984 murders of two sisters is released after serving just SEVEN YEARS behind bars.
That’s right, just seven years.
Edmond Degan was convicted in 2017 after DNA tied him to the murder of Yleen and Lillie Kennedy back in 1984 in the Heights area.
Degan was sentenced to just 15 years thanks to a plea deal. He didn’t even have to spend the 15-years. He was released after 7-years thanks to the mandatory release law that was enacted in Texas back in 1977 to ease prison crowding.
Crime Stoppers Andy Kahan writes:
“Degan raped Yleen Kennedy before firing several shots into the back of her head: Their father discovered both of their bodies inside the house and went to his grave never knowing who killed his daughters.
Degan was released under the old Mandatory Release Law enacted in 1977 and eventually abolished in 1995. We tried to get it passed retroactively but the US Supreme Court would not allow that provision.
Bottom line: Any offender who committed a crime between 1977-1987 was eligible for automatic release as long as they maintained good behavior.”
The law has since been changed, but as Kahan noted, not retroactively.
So crimes committed during the ten-year period from 1977 to 1987 still get the mandatory release.
Kahan says “it’s your calendar time, known as your day-by-day time plus your good time credits, generally you get two days for every day served in a penitentiary as long as you maintain good behavior."
As KHOU reports, Degan is the second high-profile offender released under this law in the last few months. The other, Clyde Hedrick, served eight years of a 20-year sentence for the murder of Ellen Beason in 1984.