Next time, do it right

Gov. Cuomo was wrong to grant an early chance at parole to convicted terrorist Judy Clark, part of a gang of nine revolutionaries who robbed a Brink’s truck on Oct. 20, 1981 in Rockland County, murdering a guard and two cops. And the Parole Board was right last April to unanimously reject parole for Clark, who can now make her case every two years.

But we take Clark’s side after a judge ruled that the Parole Board played and fast and loose with its rules — entitling her to a new hearing in the coming weeks.

In the interest of justice, the Parole Board must scrupulously follow procedures. They cut corners.

The law states that to earn early release, a prisoner must not only behave well on the inside and pose no threat on the outside; freedom should be “not incompatible with the welfare of society and will not so deprecate the seriousness of his crime as to undermine respect for law.”

That’s where Clark, a model prisoner who has rehabilitated thoroughly, failed the test.

But in their rejection of parole for Clark, the board cited factors beyond the eight they are statutorily limited to, and improperly substituted another judge’s views for those of the judge who sentenced Clark, as required by law.

Furthermore, the board withheld from Clark the many letters it received opposing her release. Not only would the board not share these with Clark’s team of lawyers; even after she sued, it refused to cough them up.

Sooner or later — and now, it’s looking like sooner — Clark will get another hearing. When it rolls around, the board must follow the rules.