Pritzker names new Illinois Prisoner Review Board executive director after controversy over man's release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced the appointment of a new executive director for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board – weeks after the chair of the board and a member resigned amid the controversy over the release of a man now charged with murder.
Pritzker announced James Montgomery will serve as executive director of the board, pending confirmation by the Illinois State Senate.
Montgomery most recently served as the director of administrative services for the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Sheriff's Department. He also served two terms as mayor of Montgomery, Illinois, according to the governor's office.
Montgomery's new leadership position will oversee all administrative board operations, including additional domestic violence prevention training.
In late March, Prisoner Review Board chair Donald Shelton and board member LeAnn Miller resigned after the board approved the parole of a man who is accused of stabbing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and killing her 11-year-old son a day after he was released from prison.
The boy, Jayden Perkins, was killed while trying to protect his pregnant mother, Laterria Smith, on the morning of Wednesday, March 13. Prosecutors say Smith's ex-boyfriend, Crosetti Brand, attacked her at her home in the 5900 block of North Ravenswood Avenue one day after he was released from custody.
Smith sought an order of protection against Brand in February, despite him going back to prison for violating his parole, including by trying to break into her home weeks before. The request for the order of protection was denied.
Meanwhile, Brand was granted parole on Tuesday, March 12. It was the very next day when he allegedly went to Smith's apartment and stabbed her and her son – just hours before a scheduled court hearing on her case.