In 1986, a convicted felon named Willie Horton — who was serving a life sentence for murder — was released from a Massachusetts prison on a weekend furlough program, during which time he escaped and raped a woman. The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune began running what would eventually amount to almost 200 stories over the course of the following year, criticizing the Department of Corrections, Governor Dukakis, and the furlough program. He did not return from his furlough, and ultimately committed assault, armed robbery, and rape before being captured and sentenced in Maryland where he remains incarcerated. The Willie Horton case. Minimum security, but risks are high - The Boston Globe The Massachusetts furlough program actually was signed into law in 1972 by a Republican governor, Francis W. Sargent, and later embraced by Dukakis, who has called Horton an aberration and . Bush Returns Fire on Democratic Accusations of Racism ... When you apply for Unemployment Insurance (UI), your initial eligibility for benefits is based on your earnings and your reason for leaving your job. The chorus states, "He's just a fellow on a furlough . While on furlough . Willie Horton - Top 10 Campaign Ads - TIME Michael S. Dukakis's presidential bid, 10,835 inmates had participated in weekend . He stabbed and pistol-whipped her fiancé. A political advertisement during the 1988 U.S. Presidential race was critical of the Democratic nominee and . Dukakis, the governor of Massachusetts, had vetoed a measure that would have made convicted murderers like Horton ineligible for the state's furlough program, which had been created by Dukakis . Between 1972, when the furlough program was established, to 1988 when Horton's story torpedoed then-Gov. As the Dukakis campaign is quick to note, it began in 1972 under a Republican Governor, Frank Sargent. Furlough programs existed in the prison systems of every state, the District of Columbia and in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and affected nearly 10 percent of the total prison population of about . The ad labeled Bush's opponent, Michael Dukakis, as soft on crime for his support of a weekend furlough program that allowed Willie Horton--an African-American convict--to slip through the hands . Massachusetts locked up violent criminals and threw away the key, except for a furlough program that gave any inmate, based on goals of the correctional system to improve recidivism rates, an . In the realm of presidential politics, the Massachusetts prison furlough program is a "hot button"--an emotionally stirring but largely irrelevant pseudo-issue that serves only to define a . FranciSargent in 1972, however, Horton and the others would be eligible for unguarded 48-hour weekend furloughs. June 1988 - During the campaign, George H. W. Bush, the Republican nominee for president, paints Dukakis as soft on crime because of an incident involving Massachusetts's weekend furlough . Willie Horton: was the beneficiary of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program. Prison furlough. Preference is given to people who live within a 3 hour drive from our Princeton, MA facility in order to facilitate our adoption process. Francis Sargent, a Republican. But in June 1986, he was released from prison as part of Massachusetts' weekend furlough program, which in 1973 the state supreme court had ruled must be extended to first-degree murderers. From October 22, 1872, to June 30, The advertising executive who created Vice President George Bush`s controversial ``revolving door`` ads that criticize Massachusetts Gov. He did not return to prison after the furlough. Even the Massachusetts Legislature, which contained about three Republicans, realized this was insane, and quickly passed a bill excluding first-degree murderers from the weekend furlough program. He was sentenced to life without parole, but in 1986 was released on a weekend "furlough" as part of a Massachusetts rehabilitation scheme. Francis Williams Sargent (July 29, 1915 - October 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 64th Governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. MANSFIELD: The New "Willie Horton" Ad. Then-governor Michael Dukakis had supported the prison furlough program, and when he ran for President in 1988 . William R. Horton (born August 12, 1951) is an American convicted felon who, while serving a life sentence for murder (without the possibility of parole), was the beneficiary of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program. Convicted of murder, Horton was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and incarcerated in a Massachusetts prison. Mike Dukakis' administration in 1986. . Furloughs are sometimes granted for medical reasons, to attend funerals, or to make . He was accordingly, upon the day last mentioned, by order of the President, retired on furlough pay. Born in 1915 in Hamilton, Massachusetts, he was known for his sharp wit and self-deprecating manner.A Republican, "Sarge" graduated from Charles River School, Noble & Greenough School and was a student in the architecture program at . And then he was allowed to take part in a weekend furlough program. On average, we receive 100 applications for each dog available. On June 6, 1986, he was released as part of a weekend furlough program but did not return. June 1988 - During the campaign, George H. W. Bush, the Republican nominee for president, paints Dukakis as soft on crime because of an incident involving Massachusetts's weekend furlough . A year later, he raped a woman and assaulted her fiancé in Maryland, and was . Property Value; dbo:abstract William R. 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