James Lawson was found guilty of murder on Dec. 13, 1999. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
On June 5, Lawson had his first parole hearing. The results were released today.
“After weighing the relevant factors the board does not consider the inmate suitable for release at this time,” the decision sheet from the hearing states.
Lawson’s next parole hearing has been set for 2028.
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Durkin’s family, led by her sister Karla Edwards, met with the parole board before Lawson’s hearing this month and delivered a petition to keep him behind bars with 1,010 signatures.
Edwards sent a message to the Journal-News after the parole board’s decision was released.
“Thank God. Parole denied for 10 years,” she said.
Lawson is also serving 12 concurrent months in prison for gross abuse of a corpse and five consecutive years for tampering with evidence. He pleaded no contest to those charges before his trial.
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