As many of you may already know, our classmate Peggy Wright Pundt's son Hart Pundt, at the time only 19, was stabbed to death in 1984 while trying to defend two friends from an unprovoked knife attack by a drunken 29-year-old. His killer (John David Wilkins) was sentenced to life in prison, but for the past two decades has been coming up for parole every two to three years, each time requiring the Pundts to reopen their wounds by testifying in behalf of keeping Hart's killer in prison. Texas law now permits scheduling parole hearings up to five years apart, but the parole board has so far continued the 2-3-year interval. New Friends of Hart Pundt is coordinating efforts to be sure parole is denied each time and to get the interval between hearings extended to five years. (The most recent denial of parole occurred 9/12/2012; the next review is scheduled for 9/1/2014.) If you feel you might want to support these efforts, consider reading the Kingwood Underground blog on the situation or the Humble Observer's article . Before the September 2012 hearing, change.org hosted a petition that was presented to the Victim Services Division of the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice, but the parole board ignored it in their scheduling of the next hearing for this September. That petition is no longer open, but New Friends of Hart Pundt indicates that any letter sent to the Victim Services Division (victim.svc@tdcj.state.tx.us) will be placed in Wilkins' file. Especially useful would be notes from those of you who knew Hart or have personally witnessed the impact of these frequent reviews on Peggy and her husband or on their and Hart's friends, but any indication of support for employing a five-year setoff would be helpful. You can also call the VSD at 1-800-848-4284 8-5 CST Monday through Friday. Be sure that any email or call mentions John David Wilkins, State ID: 01884985, TDCJ ID: 00401348.
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