Parole hope for figure in fatal Brink’s heist

A JUDGE signaled Tuesday he was on the verge of ordering a new parole hearing for former Weather Underground member Judith Clark.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice John Kelley appeared to side with Clark’s attorney, Michael Cardozo, that the state Parole Board had improperly considered letters from various law enforcement groups when denying Clark’s release in April 2017.

Clark, 68, was the getaway driver in the 1981 attempted heist of a Brink’s armored car in Rockland County that resulted in the killings of a security guard and two Nyack police officers.

State law requires the Parole Board not consider outsiders’ “penal philosophy” when making a decision. But the letters opposing Clark’s parole — which the board refuses to make public — factored in its decision and likely dealt with that topic, Kelley said.

“I’m left with the conclusion they couldn’t say anything other than ‘penal philosophy,’ ” Kelley said. “How can I not be left with the conclusion there was great weight placed upon these letters?” The judge said he would release a decision “fairly shortly.” He was not inclined to hold further hearings regarding whether the state should turn the letters opposing Clark’s release over to her legal team.

“The best case scenario for petitioner is that they get a new (Parole Board) hearing,” Kelley said.

Assistant state Attorney General Yan Fu had argued that the letters opposing Clark’s release were not the reason for denying her parole.

“There certainly are aggravating circumstances here,” he said, alluding to Clark’s role in the Brink’s robbery.

Clark and her fellow radicals had hoped to steal money and start a revolution against the U.S. government.

She has since become one of the state’s most well-known prisoners and been widely praised as an ideal candidate for release.

Clark has become a model prisoner active in a Puppies Behind Bars program, obtained two master’s degrees and educated incarcerated women with AIDS, among other accomplishments.

Gov. Cuomo in 2016 commuted Clark’s 75 years-to-life sentence, making her eligible for parole.

More than a dozen supporters attended the hearing, including Clark’s daughter, Harriet, 37.

“The court’s decision in this case is so important for people who are children of people inside (prison),” said Harriet, who was 11 months old when her mother was locked up.