Michael Cox

On Nov. 19, the Board of Pardons and Paroles granted Michael Cox — who has failing kidneys but has survived two bouts with COVID-19 since the pandemic began — a commutation, the first it has granted since 2019.

Cox, 49, who is serving a 75-year sentence for a string of violent crimes he committed on 1991, pleaded guilty to murder, felony murder, aiding and abetting manslaughter, and second-degree assault with a firearm.

Cox has several medical issues, such as chronic renal failure, anemia, diabetes and a low red blood cell count. This requires him to use a walker or wheelchair to get around.

A mitigation specialist wrote in a document dated July 7, 2020, that the Department of Correction classified Cox as having a medical score of 5, needing 24-hour nursing care for an extended period of time.

After hearing his case, the board knocked 30 years off what was left of Cox’s 75-year sentence, making him suddenly eligible for compassionate release, a form of parole only available to inmates who suffer from terminal or very serious illness that could be mitigated by a commutation, said Richard Sparaco, the board’s executive director.

— Mark Zarektsky and Kelan Lyons