A waste of parole time

Lawrence Adair, one of the area's most notorious criminals in the 1970s, was told in 2004 that he has to wait 50 years to be considered for parole. That's too long, an appellate court ruled last week. It's sending his case back to the state Parole Board to set a shorter time frame.

What a waste of the Parole Board's time! Adair is 52 and should die in prison. He's serving a term of life plus 66 to 75 years for murder and sodomy (in Dover Township), armed robbery (in Lakewood), and abduction, rape and robbery (in Freehold Township). That crime spree occurred soon after he was paroled for a string of offenses. That's in New Jersey alone. New York has 25 years-to-life sentences for two murders awaiting if he's ever released here.

Is Adair going to be a better prisoner if he knows he might be released in 30 years instead of 50? If anybody deserves a parole eligibility beyond the 30 years cited by the court, Adair is it. After all he's done in a lifetime of crime, it's a shame New Jersey taxpayers have to pay to keep him in prison.