The widow of Stanley Rabinowitz, the drunk driver who was killed along with seven-year-old flower girl Katie Flynn, has slammed the New York Parole Board's “liberalism” in releasing the inmates.
“This liberalism is a bullet in the back of families suffering the loss of their loved ones,” Joyce Rabinowitz-Schuster, Stanley's widow, said in an email to the Post on Sunday.
Martin Heigen, 43, who served 19 years for second-degree murder in a July 2, 2005 wrong-way murder on Meadowbrook Parkway in Freeport, has been granted parole with the state Department of Corrections. He was released from prison on Wednesday. Community supervision was confirmed on Sunday.
“Shame on the parole board for releasing a murderer,” Rabinowitz-Schuster said.
“There is no longer accountability in New York State. Murder charges should have a minimum of 25 years. Crime is on the rise in New York because of these negative attitudes and it has to stop. ” she wrote.
Hygen, who was 24 at the time of the crash, drove his pickup truck the wrong way for about three miles and crashed head-on into a limousine while returning from a family wedding on the beach in Bayville.
In the limo were Stanley, Katie, his sister Grace, 5, their parents Neil and Jennifer Flynn, Jennifer's parents Dennis Tangney and former Nassau County police officer Chris Tangney. I was along for the ride.
Katie was decapitated as a result of the collision.
Authorities said Hygen's blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit at the time of the crash.
“My family and the Flynns and the Tangneys. [Katie’s maternal grandparents] Every day we feel connected to this crime and the hundreds of friends and families of the victims,” Rabinowitz-Schuster said.
Heigen was found guilty of two counts of murder, three counts of first-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison, state officials said.
After being imprisoned, the convict attempted to appeal the verdict, but was shot dead.
A state DOCCS spokesperson announced Sunday that the parole board granted Hygin conditional release on Aug. 13, and he was released on Wednesday.
Conditions of his release include remaining in the state unless he seeks permission to leave the country.
in a statement to Newsday first reported on Heigen.Following her release, Katie's parents also said the parole board's decision to release their young daughter's killer had a “significant impact” on their family.
“We asked the public to know our grief and feel our pain,” Jennifer Flynn told the outlet. “Katie was murdered as a 7-year-old girl. It makes no difference in our lives where her killer lives, whether he is in prison or on parole.”
“We know our news cycle is over, but we hope our readers remember us and that we influence their choices,” the Flynns said.
