SALAMANCA, N.Y. — The outrage continues to grow in the Southern Tier community of Salamanca with the pending parole release of convicted killer Edward Kindt. More officials have questioned the parole board's decision and want changes for the agency.
Come Wednesday, the cell door could open at Elmira Correction Facility for Edward Kindt. He was age 15 at the time of his conviction for the brutal strangulation murder on a Salamanca jogging path on Mother's Day of 39-year-old Penny Brown. She was a wife, mother of two, and a highly regarded nurse midwife.
That is the situation following a February 2023 hearing for Kindt by a panel of members of the New York State Parole board.
Brown's sister is now weighing in. Kirsten McElvene told 2 On Your Side's Danielle Church "I don't think there's reform for someone that does something like that. It's evil. I worry for the community."
That concern tied to what Brown's sister says is Kindt's alleged statement that this was a crime of opportunity. "When it's an opportunistic thing it's not necessarily planned out - that to me says anywhere, anytime. If it crosses his mind and he says I think I'll do this today, which is what he pretty much said when it happened, I believe he will do it again."
The Cattaraugus County Legislature actually condemned the parole board's action in a formal resolution last week citing family-provided transcripts which pointed out Kindt's conduct issues in prison with discipline. It further claims that while in prison he tried to make weapons, stalked others, displayed lewd behavior including exposing himself to a female, and that he used drugs and alcohol.
State Senator George Borello notes "I've heard that he's shown no remorse from the actions he has taken. They wanna point to he got some education or whatever. I've heard that he was not a model citizen in prison that's for sure. So that you combine that with the fact that the parole board is kind of turned to this turn and burn conveyor belt justice. They spend very little time evaluating these cases. It's turn and burn. This parole board which was transformed under Andrew Cuomo."
Borrello wants an overall look at the Parole Board which currently has 14 members and several vacancies. The majority of the members were appointed by former Governor Cuomo. "This is just another example of a violent person whose debt to society is not paid being released by this far left politically driven parole board. This parole board should be balanced with members of law enforcement, former members of law enforcement, victims' rights advocates."
We are not yet sure about Kindt's release conditions imposed by the state parole board.
We also do not know which board commissioners were assigned for Kindt's parole hearing. Former State Senator Mark Coppola and former court official and probation officer Joseph Crangle are two current board members from Western New York. The others are based in New York City and Albany.