Will Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s appointees to the state parole board spring every last cop-killer from prison?
The board, 10 of whose 12 members were named by Cuomo, just sprung another, Robert Hayes, who as a cold-blooded Black Liberation Army thug fatally shot NYPD transit cop Sidney Thompson in 1973.
It’s yet another slap in the face — to Thompson’s family, to every police officer and, frankly, to every New Yorker.
Hayes murdered Thompson after he and a companion jumped a turnstile, firing 14 shots. He was nabbed after a wild shootout and sentenced to 35 years to life in prison.
But because state law at the time did not mandate life without parole for cop-killers and new guidelines emphasize whether a criminal will re-offend, Hayes can go free.
In a jailhouse interview with The Post, Hayes said he wants to raise vegetables and teach children to paint. Officer Thompson’s kids never got that chance with their dad.
Thanks to Cuomo’s parole-friendly board, Hayes is part of a trend. Fellow BLA thug and three-time cop-killer Herman Bell was turned loose last month, as was Jose Diaz, who killed a prosecutor in 1989.
Two other cop-killers face what likely will be favorable parole hearings in the coming weeks. And 1981 Brinks heist terrorist Judith Clark will get a new hearing after Cuomo reduced her sentence, making her eligible for parole, too.
Cop-killing isn’t like other crimes: It’s a direct assault on public safety. That’s why it’s long been generally accepted that people like Hayes don’t deserve parole.
Cuomo says he disagrees with the ruling. But he can’t dodge blame when it was his own appointees who supplied the get-out-of-jail card.