http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...equest_denied/

The state Parole Board has unanimously denied a parole request by
convicted rapist Benjamin LaGuer, citing his refusal to participate in
sex offender treatment, his disciplinary record during his 27 years in
prison, and his €œcombative demeanor and dishonesty at his hearing in
April.

€œThe board also observed that, in a number of instances, Mr. LaGuer was
manifestly deceptive in his responses, said the board, which voted 7-0
to deny parole May 20 in a ruling released yesterday. €œIn the boards
view, these negative personality traits would make community supervision
of Mr. LaGuer difficult if not impossible.

LaGuer, who maintains that he is innocent of raping and sodomizing a
59-year-old woman who lived in an apartment next door to him in
Leominster in 1983, has garnered support through the years from
luminaries who include Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel; Noam Chomsky, the
linguist and political activist; and former Boston University president
John Silber. He said in a telephone interview from prison yesterday that
politics played a role in the boards vote.

When Deval Patrick ran successfully for governor four years ago, the
Democratic candidate had to fend off accusations that he was soft on
crime for having written two letters to the Parole Board on LaGuers
behalf years before and for having donated to a legal fund to pay for
DNA tests that appeared to unequivocally tie LaGuer to the rape.

€œI do feel that Deval Patricks appointed board is going to bend over
backwards in order for them to show that they showed me no leniency, and
I think that they have flipped over and nearly broke their backbone
trying to do that, LaGuer, 47, said from North Central Correctional
Institution at Gardner.

A spokesman for Patrick, who has said in recent years that justice has
been done in LaGuers case, declined to comment on the vote.

It was the fourth time the Parole Board has rejected LaGuers request
for freedom. The board said LaGuer cannot reapply for parole for five years.

LaGuer, a US Army veteran, was convicted in 1984 of beating, robbing,
and sexually assaulting his neighbor over an eight-hour period. He was
sentenced to life in prison for aggravated rape, with the possibility of
parole after 15 years. But he has said he will not admit a crime he
insists he did not commit.

A considerable amount of support for LaGuer evaporated in 2002 after DNA
tests that he and his champions had long sought indicated that he was
the rapist after all. LaGuers current lawyer, retired Superior Court
judge Isaac Borenstein, contends that DNA evidence was mishandled and
mislabeled and that the results were unreliable.

LaGuers refusal to admit to the crime €” which supporters say is an act
of righteousness and critics say is an act of an inveterate liar €” has
virtually guaranteed that the board will reject his applications for
freedom.

The board seemed to say as much in its ruling, pointing out that LaGuer
has not engaged in any rehabilitative programs while in prison and has
focused on unsuccessful appeals and eight motions for a new trial.

€œWhile this may be a reasonable strategy in view of Mr. LaGuers
manifest strong belief in his innocence, it also precludes the Parole
Board from undertaking any meaningful inquiry into the question of Mr.
LaGuers suitability for community supervision, the board wrote.