Albert V. Louis was sentenced to an aggregate 60 years behind bars in 1985 and the judge imposed an aggregate 30 years of parole ineligibility – which recently ended.
TRENTON -- A state appeals court has affirmed the State Parole Board's decision to deny parole eligibility for another 15 years to a Trenton man serving time for attempting to kill a mother and daughter and setting their apartment on fire in 1984.
Albert V. Louis was sentenced to an aggregate 60 years behind bars in 1985 and the judge imposed an aggregate 30 years of parole ineligibility - which recently ended.
Albert V. Louis Despite the recent ruling on the parole term, though, Louis could be free in 2018.
Louis - with the aid of a female accomplice - beat, stabbed, bound and gagged a 27-year-old woman and her 11-year-old daughter in their Passaic Street rowhome.
Louis, who knew the victims, sexually assaulted the mother during the attack, in which he also robbed the mother of cash and food stamps. Then he set the place on fire and left.
Trenton police and firefighters rescued the victims, and other residents in the rowhome, news archives describe.
The then 19-year-old was convicted of attempted murder, kidnapping, arson, robbery, and aggravated sexual assault.
Louis was rejected for parole in 2014 for several reasons, the appellate decision said. They included his prior criminal record and the violent nature of his multiple crimes, the 28 disciplinary infractions he's had while in prison and his lack of insight into his criminal behavior and that he continues to attribute his wrongdoing to his victims.
Plus, the parole board said Louis had an substance abuse problem "that has not been sufficiently addressed," the appellate decision quoted the board.
In addition to the denial of parole, the parole board imposed an additional 15 years of parole ineligibility, called a Future Eligibility, or FET, for Louis.
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Louis, representing himself, challenged the parole board's decisions in an appeal.
He argued that decisions were arbitrary and capricious, that he has sufficiently completed the punitive aspects of his criminal sentence and that the 15 years of FET is excessive.
Specifically, Louis said his maximum release date from the state prison system is currently calculated as occurring in 2018, due to jail credits.
The appeals court said the parole board is quite experienced in parole matters and they deferred to their handling of Louis' parole, finding there was "abundant support" in the case in which the parole board found a "reasonable expectation that (Louis) will violate conditions of parole . . . if released on parole"
And the 15 years of FET, while lengthy, is neither arbitrary or capricious, the appeals court said.
While it technically exceeds Louis' current maximum release date, "we discern no abuse of discretion by the board in declining to set an FET that would expire earlier than his anticipated release date," the court wrote in the ruling.
Louis, now 50, is currently incarcerated in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton and is eligible for parole on Aug. 27, 2015.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
