Later this month, the Parole Board will hear the ninth hearing in the case of David McClary, one of four men found guilty of killing rookie Police Officer Edward Byrne in 1988—a crime that became emblematic of the lawlessness in New York City during that decade.
In his 36 years in jail, McClary, now 59, has been denied parole seven times, partly due to fierce opposition from the family of the deceased officer and the Police Benevolent Association.
However, based on copies of letters that the Daily News was able to receive and that were written to the board by a number of pastors, including a former city correction officer, McClary’s supporters are putting up a more visible effort to have him released this year. Additionally, a former parole commissioner and a preacher who briefly served as an NYPD officer filed letters to the board on McClary’s behalf.
According to Bronx Rev. Michael Peters, 64, the city correction officer who served from 1983 to 2003, he has never ceased taking part in programs that assist other prisoners in renouncing a criminal mindset.
He has always valued this job, and the fact that he is still dedicated to it in spite of obstacles to his own release shows how much he believes in rehabilitation and reducing crime.
Byrne’s family is adamantly opposed to his release. From 2014 to 2018, Edward’s brother, the late Lawrence Byrne, was the NYPD’s top attorney. He spent years fighting for the quartet’s parole. In December 2020, he passed away.
The 56-year-old retired lawyer Kenneth Byrne, Byrne’s brother, stated that it makes no difference how much progress this person claimed to have made while incarcerated.
The night my brother was killed, his advancement came to a halt. All of his plans to become engaged, get married, and start a family were snatched away. Eddie was only twenty-two. He was never given the opportunity to live. None of his murderers should be given another chance at life.
On February 26, 1988, Byrnewas was by himself in a patrol caron protecting a witness’s Queens residence when McClary and three other people assaulted him in a barrage of gunfire.
According to the papers, Todd Scott tapped on McClary’s passenger window to divert the attention of the young police officer, who was the shooter. Philip Copeland was the enforcer dispatched to ensure the murder occurred, while Scott Cobb was the getaway driver.
In punishment for Mason’s arrest for gun possession, crack gangster Howard Pappy Mason ordered the hit from jail. According to documents, he is presently incarcerated at Devens FMC, a Bureau of Prisons medical facility located in Massachusetts.
In the wake of Byrne’s death, federal funding for additional police officers surged as a result of the crack years’ intense focus on tough-on-crime action. In his honor, the Justice Department also created a grant program that is still in operation today.
June 28, 1989, was the day McClary joined the criminal justice system. He is now at Wendle CF, which is close to Buffalo and is the same facility where disgraced film tycoon Harvey Weinstein was kept.
In 2013, the four were initially granted parole. Two of the three other guilty men—Copeland in Attica CF and Scott in Shawangunk CF—remain incarcerated. However, in September 2023, Cobb was granted parole.
In their letters, McClary’s supporters claim that he satisfies all parole requirements, including shown rehabilitation, low danger of reoffending, and significant community support. The letters describe how he changed from a lost soul to a religious, remorseful guy who helps out in the jail society.
In her letter, former parole commissioner Carol Shapiro frames McClary’s application in terms of his prison accomplishments rather than the crime, which she describes as the one unchangeable occurrence.
He has taken every action imaginable. She said that he lived for more than four years in solitary confinement.
Shapiro, who was a member of the board from 2017 to 2019, has said in the past that the parole system prioritizes retribution and unending punishment above atonement.
She wrote, “I am fully aware of the political pressures from elected officials and the Police Benevolent Association to apply perpetual punishment to cases like Mr. McClary.” I sincerely hope the Board will pay enough attention to Mr. Clary’s current status.
In response, PBA President Patrick Hendry said that McClary had attacked the rule of law and all innocent New Yorkers by killing Byrne.
Hendry declared, “It is utterly shameful that anyone would advocate for the release of this heartless killer.” He did more than merely kill a heroic police officer when he pulled the trigger. This city came together after Eddie’s death to retake our neighborhoods from violent drug gangs. We cannot let the parole board or these pro-criminal activists undo that progress by letting this cop killer go free.
Since McClary became eligible, the union has gathered 42,107 petition signatures against his parole, including 11,104 since his previous hearing, according to PBA spokesperson John Nuthall.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz also vehemently opposes release in a letter dated April 8, pointing to eight violations he has incurred while behind and an effort to minimize his involvement in the murder at his 2023 parole hearing.
In the 2022 parole hearing, McClary said, “If he had killed a Joe Blow, he would have been back home already.” Katz said, “He claims he is still incarcerated due to politics rather than the nature of his role in this egregious crime.”
The DA also cited a 2023 parole board ruling in which McClary said he denied being the shooter and downplayed his involvement in the current crime.
McClary has his family’s support. Hospital administrator Diane McClary, David’s twin sister, noted, “David is no longer that person, even though I make no excuses for the nature of his crime.” David, who was imprisoned as a young, inattentive child, is now an adult, well-educated, self-assured, and distinguished man who can accept responsibility for his life’s mistakes.
Two brothers who support Mayor Adams and are pastors in Queens, Gerald and Kenneth Seabrooks, also favor McClary’s release.
He will be a valuable member of our community and an example. Gerald Seabrooks wrote, “He has paid his debt to society.”
And when McClary came out of the lengthy period of solitary confinement, Jose Hamza Saldana, who served as a sort of jail mentor for him, recalled their friendship.
He appeared weak and elderly. He was furious, socially isolated, and paranoid. Saldana, who is currently the director of the prison advocacy organization Release Aging People in Prison, recalled that he believed the State was attempting to murder him.
Since then, David has dedicated his life to assisting in breaking the cycle of violence in our neighborhoods. He’s one of us. You will see all that he has to offer our communities if you let him return to us. We just ask that people remember that people may and do change, not that they should forget the crime.
