A Terrorist Demands Mercy

Onetime domestic terrorist Judith Clark is suing to overturn the state Board of Parole’s decision keeping her behind bars for her role in the deadly 1981 Rockland County Brink’s heist. The laughable gist of her case: The board was biased.

Originally sentenced to 75 years, Clark became eligible for parole when Gov. Cuomo commuted her sentence last year. But a unanimous board called her a “symbol of violent and terroristic crime,” making her release “incompatible with the welfare of society.”

We can see why she feels singled out: The other women in the case got sprung long ago, thanks to a gullible parole board and (controversial) full pardons from President Bill Clinton on his way out of office.

But old mistakes don’t justify a new one, and Judith Clark is right where she belongs.

The Brink’s heist by Clark’s “revolutionary” cohorts cost the lives of three law-en- forcement officials, all gunned down in cold blood. Clark helped plan the heist, drove a getaway car and was reaching for a loaded 9mm semiautomatic as she was captured.

Then 32, with a long record of extremism and a hefty rap sheet, she was hardly the naive figure Cuomo painted in his act of mercy. She even demanded the right to represent herself in court, then boycotted the trial.

Yes, Clark, after finally renouncing radical terrorism, has been a model prisoner, earning two graduate degrees (at taxpayer expense) and tutoring fellow inmates.

Her lawyers argue she can’t be denied parole simply because of “the details of her crime.” But she’s only eligible for parole now (instead of in 2056) because of Cuomo’s seeming disregard for her horrific terrorist crime.

She seems to be making a difference for others in prison. Let her stay there.