Dutchess County prosecutors report that Brian Britton, who killed his parents and brother in 1989 and attempted to murder his sister, had his release from prison suspended by the parole board.
“The evidence submitted demonstrates that Mr. Britton remains a danger to the only surviving victim and his release would be incompatible with the welfare of society,” chief assistant district attorney Matthew Weishaupt reportedly told state parole board members Friday.
According to Dutchess County prosecutors, Brian Britton, who murdered his parents and brother in 1989 and attempted to murder his sister, had his release from Otisville Correctional Facility suspended by a parole board.
The Poughkeepsie Journal had reported that Britton, who was 16 at the time of the killings, was scheduled to be released on Monday after serving 33 years.
However, prosecutors argued that Britton’s social media postings warranted a closer examination.
Sherry Shafer, Britton’s sister, survived the shooting but started a Change.org petition to keep him in prison when he was up for parole in 2018.
“He shot my dad twice, my mom twice and Jason once and bashed his head in with the butt of the gun,” she wrote. “I survived my two gunshots (one to the abdomen and one to the head).”
According to Shafer, her brother only admitted to the killings after learning his sister was still alive.
“I fear for my life and that of my children if he were to be released,” she pleaded.
A petition on Change.org initiated by Sherry Shafer received over 6,200 signatures urging former Governor Andrew Cuomo to keep Brian Britton, who killed his parents and brother, incarcerated.
Despite the prosecutor’s argument that Britton never expressed remorse, he was granted parole on March 21.
However, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has suspended his release, and the parole board will decide what to do next. Britton had been denied parole on multiple previous occasions.