An important deadline for the parole board has passed. Now a convicted Conyers killer could leave prison any day. The murdered woman’s family says they are waiting in fear.
Shirley McKnight’s ex-boyfriend, Joseph Monroe, stabbed her to death in her home 30 years ago.
“Christmas and the holidays will never be the same for us, ever again,” said Melba McKnight-Lett. She was the sister of Shirley McKnight.
She spoke to Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco while arranging her sister’s old Christmas decorations. The family sends them away every year to feel closer to her during the holidays, but they said the loss feels heavier this year.
“It’s very cruel. It has been brutal,” said McKnight-Lett.
In September, the Georgia Parole Board granted Monroe preliminary parole. The following month, the McKnight reached out Channel 2 Action News to expose a potential flaw in the board’s reporting process.
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The McKnight family said they never received the warning letters the board typically sends in the mail.
“I said, how many other people, how many other families have been neglected, and they don’t know it,” McKnight-Lett said.
She found out because her daughter, Amber Lett-Hammond, received an email from the board. It said the family had 20 days to send letters objecting to Monroe’s parole.
“The fear and the duress we have been living under since that day,” Hammond-Lett recalls.
Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco I then called the parole board. Staff said this was such a violent case that the family had until December 20 to submit appeal letters.
“The ball dropped when informing the victim’s families. The ball fell completely and completely and the ball stayed on the ground,” Lett-Hammond said.
That deadline was Friday. The parole board has not yet made a decision. A spokesperson said there is no timeline for a decision.
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The McKnight family said staff told them, “Maybe a month, two months, a year, but be happy because that means he’s still here,” Lett-Hammond said.
The family says they took offense to this.
“There’s nothing to be happy about if we’re sitting here like sitting ducks waiting to see if this person shows up on my doorstep,” Hammond-Lett said.
A spokesperson said if parole is granted, Monroe may be required to complete a Department of Corrections Work Release Program as a condition.
If parole is denied, a future parole date will be set. The board members would do that. That reconsideration date can be set anywhere between one and eight years from the time the denial decision is made.
The McKnight family plans to share their experiences with the parole board with state lawmakers. They want an investigation that examines the reporting process, and they want the board to set decision dates.
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