Overview

• Jamel McGriff was arrested after a manhunt, reportedly confessed, and was arraigned and remanded without bail on charges in the torture, murder and arson of Frank and Maureen Olton.
• He had been released on parole in 2023 after serving roughly 17 years of a 20-year sentence for robbery, burglary and sexual assault, according to records.
• Police and court reports say he failed to register his address this summer, a sex‑offender registry violation that did not lead to immediate detention under the 2022 statute.
• The Less Is More law raised the standard for proving a parole violation to clear and convincing evidence and instituted a limited three‑strike policy that restricts automatic reincarceration for initial violations.
• State data cited in the coverage show 85% of parolees arrested for new crimes remained free last year and corrections figures show a 38% drop in incarceration for violations, drawing criticism of the law authored by Phara Souffrant Forrest and co‑sponsored by Zohran Mamdani.