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James “Jamie” Hughes III, convicted 24 years ago for murdering 79-year-old Zeke Harris, will remain in prison
NORTH KINGSTOWN — James “Jamie” Hughes III was denied parole Monday for the fourth time in 15 years.
In 1983 Hughes, then in his early 30s, was sentenced to life in prison for the Sept. 1982 bludgeoning death of 79-year-old Howard “Zeke” Harris of North Kingstown.
At trial, a jury found Hughes guilty of beating Harris in the head with a hammer at his Davisville furniture store during a robbery.
According to a written statement, the Rhode Island Parole Board said its unanimous decision was “due to the heinous nature of the crime and the impact [Hughes’] actions have had on the victim, the family and the community at large.”
The board also stated that “Mr. Hughes was significantly more forthcoming in the admission of his guilt and with regard to his active participation in the planning and execution of this crime.”
In light of their observation, the board said it would reconsider Hughes for parole in 3 1/2 years. Since his first hearing in 1992, Hughes’ parole application has been heard in five-year intervals.
“We’re very happy that we have 3 1/2 more years but we will continue to fight,” said Kay Cutting, Harris’ daughter, later that day. “His sentence was for life. I believe in truth in sentencing and we will continue to work in that regard.”
Also reached Monday afternoon, Hughes’ mother, Laura Hughes, said she was “stunned” by the board’s decision.
“I’m shocked but I must admit that I’m not surprised,” said the 81-year-old Hughes, her voice shaking. “I was hoping against hope… I was praying.”
Prior to Hughes’ hearing, the parole board met with Cutting and two of her daughters, Krista Brown and Bethany Sherman, for a victims’ impact hearing.
With family pictures lining the table, Cutting and her daughters described Harris as a grandfather to the entire community, a deeply religious man who would go hungry if a child needed food and was always generous with his time and assistance.
The three women also relayed how Harris’ death had changed their lives.
Cutting recounted the events of the day her father was murdered and the phone call she received from her husband at 10:30 p.m. after he found Harris’ body in the elderly man’s furniture store.
“I heard my husband’s voice and he said ‘your dad is dead. Do you understand what I’m saying? Your dad is dead,’” Cutting recalled, crying.
Cutting said her father had known Hughes and that Harris had tried to reach out to the boy when he was young.
At trial, the state contended that Hughes has gone to Harris’ shop hoping to acquire money for drugs. Members of the Hughes family have said Jamie wrestled with a heroin addiction.
“Drugs and alcohol are not an excuse as far as I’m concerned,” Cutting told the parole board. “His callous disregard of human life should deny him the privilege of a place in our society.”
Sherman said she didn’t believe Hughes could ever be rehabilitated and said “the pain and suffering is overwhelming to me, what my grandfather went through that cold, dark afternoon.”
Brown, who was 14 when her grandfather was murdered, was one of the last people to see Harris alive. Brown testified at Hughes’ trial and said she would fear for her safety and the safety of her children if he was paroled.
“I would be scared to death, I tell you, I would be scared to death. I feel… I feel that he would want to get back to us,” she said sobbing.
“I tell my children that there are no such thing as monsters but I don’t believe that is true,” said Brown. Brown also read an impact statement written by her sister Lorie Cutting, who lives in Florida and was unable to attend.
Lorie Cutting’s statement spoke of the seeing the anguish on the officers’ faces who responded to the scene at Harris’ shop, and looking through the shop’s window only to see her grandfather lying on the floor “in a pool of blood.”
Parole board Chairperson Lisa S. Holley said Hughes had submitted an out-of-state release plan that included housing, employment and treatment preparations for the board’s consideration.
Last week Hughes’ sister Laurie said her brother planned to live in Massachusetts if paroled.
In addition to a release plan, Holley said the board received certificates of achievement Hughes has acquired during his incarceration – including a masters degree from Boston University – and letters of support on his behalf.
Cutting told the board it was especially difficult for her family to return every five years and relive her father’s murder and Hughes trial.
Parole board member Victoria M. Almeida said that while they didn’t “relish bringing victims back every five years or every three years,” the law required the board to review inmates’ cases “at reasonable intervals to look at the progress they’ve made.”
Almeida said failing to have such laws would promote “recklessness and lawlessness” within prisons. “He’s a human being,” said Almeida of Hughes.
Almeida recognized how difficult it was for the Cutting family to rehash their pain for the hearings but said their testimony was factored in to the board’s decisions.
“The nature and the extent of the life that was taken weighs very heavily on our decision making,” she said.
North Kingstown Police Chief Edward Charboneau presented a letter from the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association protesting Hughes’ release.
Hughes fled to New York after Harris’ murder but was soon arrested and extradited back to Rhode Island. Charboneau helped process Hughes at the North Kingstown police station upon his return and said during in 26 years in law enforcement, he had never seen eyes like Hughes’.
“Those were the eyes of a killer,” Charboneau told the board.
Deputy Attorney General Gerald J. Coyne hand-delivered the board an objection to Hughes’ parole application on behalf of the Attorney General’s office.
Coyne called the case “absolutely senseless” and said the crime “was a true, random act” of violence. Coyne stressed that had Rhode Island law permitted it when Hughes was tried, the state more than likely would have sought life without parole.
Rhode Island law does not afford inmates’ supporters the opportunity to speak on their behalf at parole hearings, a law Hughes’ mother feels is unjust.
“Where is the justice if the family of the victim can go to the parole board hearing and take whomever they want and I was told from the beginning that I couldn’t be there,” she asked.
Laura Hughes said that from the very beginning she felt she and her family were not treated well by the court system, the press or the police.
“Kay will never have closure and Zeke will never have rest until she forgives and tries to forget,” she said.
“Life is for the living and you just keep going on with whatever crosses you have to bear,” said Hughes.
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