Parole denied for killer of Kansas City, Kan., police officer

Kansas officials have denied parole for a man convicted in the 1989 death of a Kansas City, Kan., police officer.

Darryl L. Lewis will have to wait three years before he can again seek parole, the Kansas Prisoner Review Board ruled.

Lewis, 47, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Police Officer Jeff Young and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Lewis was driving a stolen car and trying to avoid arrest when he struck and critically injured the 29-year-old officer in November 1988. Young remained comatose until he died on Aug. 1, 1989.

At a public comment session last month, Young’s widow, Kathleen Young, backed by dozens of police officers and other supporters, asked the board to pass him for parole consideration for the maximum 10 years. The board instead passed him for parole consideration until August 2019.

“I am relieved the decision has been made to leave Darryl Lewis in prison for another three years,” Kathleen Young said Friday.

She thanked the board for its hard work and also thanked members of the law enforcement community who supported her, even as they are coping with the deaths of two other Kansas City, Kan., police officers this year.

“It is a cruel reminder that unless the conviction for a cop killer is a life sentence without parole eligibility, this cycle of revictimization for the family of the officer killed and the law enforcement family still serving our community just never ends,” she said.

In its decision, the board said Lewis needed to avoid any disciplinary reports. His prison record shows that he had been free of any disciplinary action since November 2012. But on June 3, he was cited for “undue familiarity.” Prison officials did not disclose specifics of the violation, which is defined as: “No inmate shall solicit, encourage, establish, or participate in any type of personal relationship with any staff member, contract personnel, volunteer, or employee of any other organization in charge of the inmate.”

This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 10:16 AM with the headline "Parole denied for killer of Kansas City, Kan., police officer."