One of the men convicted of killing Massachusetts State Trooper George Hanna nearly 43 years ago is having his first parole hearing Thursday. Hanna's family is there.

Jose Colon is getting the hearing because of a new state law that offers a second chance to young offenders.

Who was Trooper George Hanna?

Hanna was shot and killed in Auburn in February 1983 during a routine traffic stop. He was 36 years old and left behind a wife and three children. The annual bravery awards for Massachusetts police officers, started in 1983, are named after him.

Hanna had pulled a car over in a parking lot and ordered the three men inside to get out. One of the men - Jose Colon - fired six shots at Hanna, killing him. Colon, who was 20 at the time, and two other men were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Mattis decision

In 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that mandatory life sentences without parole for anyone under the age of 21 was unconstitutional. The so-called Mattis decision meant that Colon was now eligible for a parole hearing.

Hanna's daughters, Kim and Debbie, have been pushing for changes to the law that would exclude anyone who kills police officers or public officials.

"It's like reliving the night again," Kim Hanna told reporters before the hearing. She and her sister will address the parole board Thursday after Colon speaks.

"This is unnecessary revictimization of us that will go on every one to five years. That needs to be stopped," Debbie Hanna said.

Jose Colon apologizes to Hanna family

Jose Colon, now 63 years old, told the parole board he was "deeply saddened and remorseful" for killing Hanna and formally apologized to the trooper's family and friends.

"There are no words that can adequately explain my regret for the action that has caused so much deep pain, sorrow to the Hanna family, his fellow officers and his community," Colon said.

Fighting back tears, he read a statement saying he was "ashamed of what I did."

"I cannot repair the damage of what I did, but it was wrong and inexcusable. I will have to live with that for the rest of my life," Colon said.

Asked about his decisions on the night of the murder, Colon said he shot Hanna because his brother-in-law was in a struggle with the trooper and needed help.

Colon, who was from Puerto Rico, said he had been in the U.S. just two weeks at the time of the shooting. He said he had never used a gun before.

210 new parole cases

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey sent a letter to the state parole board Tuesday, urging them to keep Colon in prison.

The parole board told WBZ-TV there have been 210 total Mattis cases so far. There have been 51 decisions made as of last month - 39 were granted parole and 12 were denied. That's a 76-percent parole approval rate.

"I'm going in this thinking that 100-percent he could get out," Debbie Hanna said. "Consequences need actions and the consequence with killing my father is permanent. So, therefore, you will be permanently behind bars not to see the light of day. And as long as I live I will fight to see that happen."