William Gholston has been in and out of jail since he was a teenager.
Probably the most visual example is a look at Gholston's
. His
spans 30 years.
With so many crimes over so many years, we wanted to know why Gholston was out of jail in the first place.
Good behavior and prison classes allowed Gholston early release from prison. He served just 6 years of a 16 year sentence.
When it comes to his parole violations, 13 Investigates went straight to those who had the power to make Gholston serve the rest of his time - the Indiana Parole Board.
At issue: predicting human nature and crime.
While 13 Investigates sat in on some of the Board's hearings, we saw parole revoked for prisoners who failed drug tests or moved without proper notification, while others committed another crime.
In many cases the inmates got a year or more to think about their mistake.
That's not what happened with accused killer William Gholston, Sr. earlier this year.
Gholston was released on parole in November 2012 as an habitual offender and serious violent felon on a weapons charge. He had no reported problems for a year, but then in January 2014, Gholston was arrested on parole violations for failing to show up for drug classes and testing positive for cocaine.
"He had a history of substance abuse," recalled Thor Miller, chairman of the parole board.
Gholston was ordered back to prison for 60 days then was re-released in March.
Two months later, in May, he was back behind bars on the same violations. In July, he again sat before this board and got another release.
Miller defends that decision saying research shows it can take up to six times before drug treatment is successful.
"There is always a risk when action is taken that it might not be appropriate. But we try and balance things," said Miller who has been on the board for nearly 18 years.
By August, the Indianapolis Parole District declared Gholston "delinquent." Worse yet, the State had no idea where he was living. Twenty-three days later on August 31, 15-year-old
.
Gholston was
in Bluffton, Indiana on the parole violation November 10. Days later,
with Allen's murder.
"Very, very rarely has this occurred," Miller told 13 Investigates.
Miller said this was the first "new crime" Gholston's been charged with while on parole.
"There is no way anyone can predict human behavior, especially when drugs and alcohol are mixed in," he explained.
No way to predict despite more than 24 mugshots connected to more than 35 arrests and multiple probation and parole violations.
"Sometimes things go the way that we hope that they will go, that they'll be reformed. Other times it doesn't work out that way," said Miller.
The parole board has issued a warrant for William Gholston's arrest for violating his parole. This time, the charge is murder.
If Gholston is found guilty in the Dominique Allen case, he will have to serve out his prison time on the 2006 case until September 2018 before time would start to count toward his sentence for Allen's murder.
