Alex Kelly admits guilt, likely to be released next year

[wiseguy182]

I don't think this one has been discussed much on the boards, at least not that I could find. Alex Kelly seemingly had it all: he came from a wealthy upbringing in Darien, Connecticut, one of the most affluent communities in the country, and most that knew him would say he was popular and handsome. But he threw everything away when he raped two teenage girls in 1986. Kelly was 18 or 19 at the time. He was arrested, but his parents came up with the one million dollar bond (the largest in the state at the time) and got him out. He fled the states, and lived it up in various countries while his victims and just about everyone else wanted justice. Kelly eventually was arrested again about 10 years later. One of the victims said that Kelly had one hand on her choking her at all times. The trial mainly focused on whether Kelly could have done one hand choking her and still be able to unlatch the back seat. The jury was convinced, and rendered a guilty verdict.

One article I found from March 2005 stated that Kelly has since admitted he's guilty. I was a tad shocked, as most criminals seem to deny their crimes for as long as they live. The parole board was not convinced by Kelly's belief of why he should be set free, and kept him in prison, partially due to that they think he his a high flight risk (which he is) He will likely be released next year, but will be on parole for 5 years and will have to register as a sex offender wherever he lives.
Here is the link:

http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp...7&nav=ORdeX20r

Personally, I think his parents should have been arrested for aiding a criminal, as they visited him on one occasion, and probably gave him the money to leave in the first place.

[DarkDante]

You ever read the book on Alex Kelly called "Saint of Circumstance"? - Great book - reminded me of a lot of stuff from my youth that I could relate to and kinda distrubed me years later reading about other people going through similar situations - it was like a deja vu for me in a lot of ways.

Read the book, I'm not going to make any excuses for Mr. Kelly - but read the book and you'll see why he turned out the way he did and how many people in "the story" so to speak were victims of circumstance.

[The Third Man]

I remember this case on UM and on Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice series. Sounds like the parents were willing to back Alex until the authorities threatened to freeze their assets...guess family loyalty only goes so far, eh?

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Blech. Alex Kelly makes me sick. I'm glad that he's been apprehended, but I think that this man IN NO WAY deserves parole. I have a hard time believing that he's learned anything or changed at all and I sincerely question the value he brings to society.

Rape is such an intrusive crime, and while survivors learn ways to cope with it, a lot of them never really "get over it." (I worked with survivors of sexual assault in the years before I started law school; my opinion is a direct result of that experience.) Putting Alex Kelly back on the streets is not going to do these women any good. Frankly, I can't believe Kelly's family hid him for so many years. It kind of reminds me of the whole Andrew Luster drama. ANOTHER criminal I'm glad is off the streets...

Sorry for the rant. Perhaps I should read the book DarkDante suggested. Maybe I'd develop a little more empathy for Kelly, although I don't think he deserves it.

[crystaldawn]

Alex Kelly is guilty...what a shock!

[Kane]

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

Blech. Alex Kelly makes me sick. I'm glad that he's been apprehended, but I think that this man IN NO WAY deserves parole. I have a hard time believing that he's learned anything or changed at all and I sincerely question the value he brings to society.

Rape is such an intrusive crime, and while survivors learn ways to cope with it, a lot of them never really "get over it." (I worked with survivors of sexual assault in the years before I started law school; my opinion is a direct result of that experience.) Putting Alex Kelly back on the streets is not going to do these women any good. Frankly, I can't believe Kelly's family hid him for so many years. It kind of reminds me of the whole Andrew Luster drama. ANOTHER criminal I'm glad is off the streets...

Sorry for the rant. Perhaps I should read the book DarkDante suggested. Maybe I'd develop a little more empathy for Kelly, although I don't think he deserves it.

LooksLikeCRicci, you have every right to rant on the subject. I share your skepticism about the idea that Alex Kelly has changed. No matter what good he might do or might have done since his incarceration, nothing will change that fact that he is a rapist. Once a sex offender, always a sex offender.

When I read a topic like this, I often think of other cases involving the argument that a given convict has "changed."

One example is Kevin Cooper, a California death row inmate who was convicted of hacking four people (including two children) to death. Cooper was scheduled to be executed in February of 2004. During that time many of his supporters called for his death sentence to be commuted. While many of them questioned Kevin Cooper's guilt, they cited Cooper's religious conversion. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger disagreed, saying that Kevin Cooper's "conversion to faith and mentoring of others, while commendable, do not diminish the cruelty and destruction he has inflicted on so many." (Cooper eventually won a stay, and is still appealing his sentence.)

Another example is Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, who was sentenced to death for four shotguns murders committed in 1979. Many demanded that Gov. Schwarzenegger commute Tookie's death sentence, claiming that he had found redemption. The LA Crips co-founder wrote children's books, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (what kind of idiot would give such a nomination, much less an award, to a murderous thug??), and was the subject of a 2004 TV-movie entitled Redemption: The Stanley Tookie Williams Story. However, many people had serious doubts that Tookie had been redeemed. Even after all of his preaching against gang violence, he continued his violent ways (there was at least one reported incident in which he got violent with a prison guard). Ultimately, Gov. Shwarzenegger ignored Tookie's fans, and Tookie Williams was given the needle on December 13, 2005.

Going back to the topic of Alex Kelly, I agree that his likely release will not do any good for his victims. In fact, I think he will inevitably get in trouble again. The unfortunate truth is that some people are incapable of being reformed, much less finding redemption.

[wiseguy182]

IMO, Alex Kelly doesn't deserve parole. I had read that when his parole was denied in March of 2005, after he talked for an hour regarding why he should be released, he said something to the effect of "So this was a big waste of time then?" Doesn't sound like someone that's sorry, just acting that way and doing whatever necessary to get free. The father is equally unemotional, during the initial trial he tended to smirk alot.

The segment showed his high school sweetheart walking hand in hand with him nearly every day to court when the trial was taking place. I wonder if she's changed her mind about him, or if she's like his parents.

Another link I discovered, but didn't post, was a blog about the case. One blogger expressed doubt that Alex Kelly was guilty, stating that he wouldn't need to do that because he's handsome. Another blogger shot back with a good point, stating it's not about looks, it's about control. Even though the future was bright for Kelly due to his upbringing, he wanted even more control.

Bah, Kelly can just stay where he is.

I'll end this post with a bit of a bright spot: the father covered his face in shame when the guilty verdict was read. Good!

[DarkDante]

I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression here, I'm not asking anyone to feel empathy or symptahy for Alex Kelly. Alex was a messed up kid, his whole family was messed up especially his dad, it was truly like a pressure cooker ready to explode. There is no doubt that Alex Kelly had a bright future due to his family's wealth but Alex was always kind of a burnout in many aspects.

At the time he wasn't as preppie or clean-cut as it seems his family or the media would like you to believe. He was kind of a "flower child" come a few years too late and the crowd he ran with were indulgent in all the things that you think that young people with a lots of money and lots of freedom would be into.

He had a very volitile relationship with his father partly due to the fact that Alex was a bit embarassed by his dad because to a lot of Alex's friends, Joe Kelly was just the guy who repaired things in their home when they broke. Joe also really pushed Alex hard to succeed at being an athlete and I'm not entirely convinced thats necessarily the direction where Alex always wanted to go but then again it could be argued that Alex didn't have any great plan of his own.

As far as Amy goes, well she is currently married to a contractor from Colorado.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

OMG. I get SO mad at people that say just because someone is "cute," they cannot POSSIBLY be a rapist. I can think of three names off the top of my head that quash this theory: TED BUNDY. ANDREW LUSTER. ALEX KELLY. All three men, by many people's standards, were good looking...

Rape is not about sex. I'm sure that all of you know that. The blogger Wiseguy mentioned was correct, at least in my opinion. Rape is about power and having control over another person. The way Kelly committed the crimes, with his hand over the girl's throat the entire time, SCREAMS the need for power and control. As I said, I have serious doubts as to Kelly's sincerity when he says that he is "guilty." He is exactly where he belongs.

[WatchYourLips]

Originally Posted by Kane

LooksLikeCRicci, you have every right to rant on the subject. I share your skepticism about the idea that Alex Kelly has changed. No matter what good he might do or might have done since his incarceration, nothing will change that fact that he is a rapist. Once a sex offender, always a sex offender.

When I read a topic like this, I often think of other cases involving the argument that a given convict has "changed."

One example is Kevin Cooper, a California death row inmate who was convicted of hacking four people (including two children) to death. Cooper was scheduled to be executed in February of 2004. During that time many of his supporters called for his death sentence to be commuted. While many of them questioned Kevin Cooper's guilt, they cited Cooper's religious conversion. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger disagreed, saying that Kevin Cooper's "conversion to faith and mentoring of others, while commendable, do not diminish the cruelty and destruction he has inflicted on so many." (Cooper eventually won a stay, and is still appealing his sentence.)

Another example is Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, who was sentenced to death for four shotguns murders committed in 1979. Many demanded that Gov. Schwarzenegger commute Tookie's death sentence, claiming that he had found redemption. The LA Crips co-founder wrote children's books, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (what kind of idiot would give such a nomination, much less an award, to a murderous thug??), and was the subject of a 2004 TV-movie entitled Redemption: The Stanley Tookie Williams Story. However, many people had serious doubts that Tookie had been redeemed. Even after all of his preaching against gang violence, he continued his violent ways (there was at least one reported incident in which he got violent with a prison guard). Ultimately, Gov. Shwarzenegger ignored Tookie's fans, and Tookie Williams was given the needle on December 13, 2005.

Going back to the topic of Alex Kelly, I agree that his likely release will not do any good for his victims. In fact, I think he will inevitably get in trouble again. The unfortunate truth is that some people are incapable of being reformed, much less finding redemption.

I pretty much agree with what you are saying about sex offenders. Child molesters are the scum of the Earth as far as I'm concerned and rapists are a close second.

However, you make it sound as if nobody can change from being somebody who does negative things to somebody who does positive things in this World. I can't speak directly about Alex Kelly or Tookie Williams, because I haven't studied their cases, but I have seen people (including myself) who are lost in life due to drugs, poverty or simply bad choices, turn their life around by discovering religion, martial arts, meditation, etc. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's hard for me to judge anybody when I don't know them or what they've been through. Having said that I do understand that crimes like murder and rape do need to be punished severely, because the victim's suffering never ends.

At any rate, I think at least 95% of people didn't need the news of Alex Kelly's confession to realize that he's guilty.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by WatchYourLips

I pretty much agree with what you are saying about sex offenders. Child molesters are the scum of the Earth as far as I'm concerned and rapists are a close second.

However, you make it sound as if nobody can change from being somebody who does negative things to somebody who does positive things in this World.

Well, it was never my intention to suggest that no one could change from a negative person to a positive person. There are definitely people who, for example, were in a street gang, but eventually turned their lives around. And the primary reason that it worked for many of them was that they gave up that negative lifestyle before it progressed to the point where they ended up committing acts that warrant lenghty jail time.

But there are definitely some people who cannot be reformed, and no matter what method of treatment you offer them, they will not change.


I do understand that crimes like murder and rape do need to be punished severely, because the victim's suffering never ends.

I agree with you 100 percent. Besides, it should be noted that what I have discussed isn't about hate and anger; it's about justice and punishment. Plain and simple.

By the way, I hope you got past your negatives before they reached the point of no return, and that you are doing fine.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Yeah, I feel like I should clarify, too.

While I really do believe that many people CAN find redemption, I still choose to believe that the majority will not. I used to be a lot less jaded, but working in a prosecutor's office will knock the optimism right out of you. I've also said that I should make an effort to learn more about Alex Kelly before I judge him so harshly.

I may or may not retract my statement. We'll see...

[kadrmas15]

Well I think that people can change. To say no one can change I think is frankly ridiculous. I am glad that CRicci and Kane decided to be more specific about what they were saying because I had got the impression that they thought no one could ever change from a positive to a negative person. CRicci might be able to appreciate that in Montana, one of the men convicted in the murder of Patrick Duffy's parents was paroled in late 2005, early 2006 and is now living in Billings. Some might not believe he has changed, however the guy had been a model inmate since he went to prison and in fact was so trusted that guards were taking him out on outside work details and even were taking him out for lunch at local restaurants. However that stopped after a huge scandal developed about that a couple of years before Miller was paroled. Miller I dont think was the trigger man in the robbery of Patrick Duffy's parents bar and their murder. However he participated in the robbery and got slapped with two murders. The trigger men Sean Wentz remains in prison and was turned down for parole again last month.

[WatchYourLips]

Well, I want to make it clear that there is nothing in my past that would ever be discussed on this board, but I certainly did things that I look back on and say, "What were you thinking." The person I am today just wouldn't do those same things. Therefore, I believe people can change for the better.

[James T]

Yes with the exception of my Avatar- she can do no wrong, but really although I have not seen this case he sounds like a scumbag and his parents are just as bad.

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

OMG. I get SO mad at people that say just because someone is "cute," they cannot POSSIBLY be a rapist. I can think of three names off the top of my head that quash this theory: TED BUNDY. ANDREW LUSTER. ALEX KELLY. All three men, by many people's standards, were good looking...

Rape is not about sex. I'm sure that all of you know that. The blogger Wiseguy mentioned was correct, at least in my opinion. Rape is about power and having control over another person. The way Kelly committed the crimes, with his hand over the girl's throat the entire time, SCREAMS the need for power and control. As I said, I have serious doubts as to Kelly's sincerity when he says that he is "guilty." He is exactly where he belongs.