Eleanor Prouty—known as "Ellie"—was one of the first women to ever hold a senior editing position at what was then the largest circulation magazine in the world, according to her grandson, Brooks Prouty of Manhattan.
Ms. Prouty was also active in the community and served on the local school board. Mr. Prouty had been a pioneer in radio and advertising, but his career was cut short by crippling multiple sclerosis. By 1980, he was bed-ridden and defenseless.
The Proutys were community-minded advocates for youth detained at Lincoln Hall, a juvenile facility a couple of miles from their home, and frequently hired the boys to rake leaves and perform other chores, according to the family.
In the early morning hours of May 25, 1980, Losicco and David Hollis escaped from the juvenile facility and broke into the Prouty home.
Mr. Prouty was bludgeoned with a piece of firewood as he lay helpless in bed. Ms. Prouty was beaten, kicked and sodomized before she was strangled, according to various documents.
Losicco was connected to the crime in part because of the boot print he left on Ms. Prouty's face, records show. The carnage was discovered by their 9-year-old granddaughter who lived next door and went to visit her grandparents that Sunday morning.
Hollis was convicted of felony murder and served a 20-year-to-life term before he was released in 2010.
Losicco was convicted of intentional murder, burglary, robbery and other crimes and sentenced to a 25-year-to-life term, the maximum permitted at the time.
The sentencing judge, Justice Angelo Ingrassia, now of Larkin, Axelrod, Ingrassia & Tetenbaum in Middletown, said at the time that he could not recall "a more brutal or vicious crime," and made clear in the record that in his view Losicco should never get out of prison.
But under state law, Losicco became eligible for parole after serving the minimum of his indeterminate sentence, 25 years, and is entitled to consideration anew every two years. Even though Losicco has been denied release four times, his parole hearings every 24 months inflict a "continuous crime by the state" against the survivors and the community, Saks said.
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Erin Lloyd
I could not agree more with Mr. Stevens' comments. This article highlights the lay-person views of Mr. Saks, who admits to having no expertise on the subject yet is quoted making grand pronouncements about recidivism, psychology and rehabilitation - mostly without any critical evaluation of those statements by the Law Journal. His comments are irresponsible and contrary to well-established data and that should have been said and discussed.
Criminal sentences are not intended solely for retribution. I have no opinion about this criminal, specifically, but I believe in rehabilitation as an important component in criminal policy. Saks' campaign of retribution is emotional and irrational. While I feel deep empathy for the family of the victims and what they must experience in the parole process, this type of campaign is not the answer.
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Scott Saks
My name is Scott Saks, I strongly encourage everybody who reads this article to sign the petition to ensure that Convicted Inmate Losicco is denied parole this year, in two years, in ten years and forever. The petition can be found at the following link:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/194/981/805/residents-of-somers-ny-against-the-parole-of-convicted-murderer-and-rapist-terry-losicco-81b1188/
You can sign anonymously if you should so choose. If you are a lawyer and officer of the court, I urge you to state that in the petition.
Send a message to the parole board by signing the petition.
Very truly yours,
Scott Saks
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Jake Stevens
This is a remarkably mean-spirited and un-nuanced article, more fitting for the pages of the New York Post than the New York Law Journal. It is a mere few months since the Supreme Court, at least prospectively, banned sentences of life without parole for juvenile murderers like Terry Losicco. Mr. Saks' circular claim that the extraordinary length of time Losicco has spent in prison means he can never be deemed rehabilitated is refuted by information buried deep in this unbalanced account. I cannot know what a parole board should decide in this case, but I could hope for a deeper discussion of the implications of the process.
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