BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Edward Kindt served more than 23 years in prison for the rape and murder of Penny Brown in Salamanca on Mother's Day in 1999.
He was denied parole several times, but in 2023 his request was granted by the New York State Board of Parole. He became a free man at the age of 39, the same age Brown was when she was killed.
In July, Kindt was accused of violating his parole by escaping the supervised transitional housing he was placed in, in Dutchess County and went back to Salamanca where he is banned.
The state parole commission lost track of him for six days and didn't notify law enforcement until the day before he was found.
After Kindt was taken back into custody, State Senator George Borrello and Penny Brown's daughter, Kaitlyn Brown, both told me that he never should have been released.
"He never should have been released. We have been so utterly, disgustingly failed by the New York State system," said Kaitlyn.
A GoFundMe has been set up to provide Kaitlyn, and her sister Bradleigh, financial support for mental health resources and counseling. You can find the GoFundMe here.
In Cattaraugus County, leaders called for NYS Board of Parole members to resign as the new developments unfolded.
“Kathy Hochul get these dirtbags off the parole board. They should resign in shame,” said Chairman Andrew Burr of the Cattaraugus County Legislature.
Now, Assemblywoman Monica Wallace is also calling for parole law reform.
"It is a living nightmare and how could there be a more glaring example of a failure?" said Kaitlyn Brown who was only 13 years old when her mom was killed. "This is what worst nightmares are made of."
"We should never, ever, ever be at the point we're at with my mother's murderer having broken his ankle bracelet off and is back on my block," said Kaitlyn.
Assemblymember Wallace said New York's "Less is More" legislation, passed in 2021, makes it harder for parole officers to do their job.
"The legislation was intended to prevent parolees from going back to jail for what we'll call technical violations like missing an appointment or being late for curfew," said Wallace.
She said because of this law, there are few if any consequences for parole violators.
"The case of Edward Kindt is exhibit A of the problem of these changes," said Wallace. "Kindt poses a real danger to the community yet the Less is More act limits the ability to reincarcerate him."
Wallace has introduced legislation that she said would strengthen penalties for parole violators like Kindt.
"Right now if you leave without telling your parole officer where you're going, you go somewhere you're not supposed to go as Edward Kidnt did, it's only 7 days if it's your first violation. It's up to 30 days if you've had many, many violations," said Wallace.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul answered questions about the case while in Buffalo Monday and said "He is not the first parolee to be able to cut loose from the electronic monitoring system and to escape. The good news is that no harm was done during this time. It's unacceptable what happened, unacceptable what happened. I say that very forcefully. The family didn't deserve this stress. I say that right now and I want to get to the bottom of it as well."
On Thursday, Kindt had a parole violation hearing at the Poughkeepsie Area Parole Office. The Administrative Law Judge reserved his decision for a later date and Kindt remains in the Dutchess County Jail.
