Plymouth County District Attorney: Massachusetts State Parole Board rejects parole for man convicted in double murder over jacket

BROCKTON – Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has announced that the Massachusetts State Parole Board has rejected the parole application of a man found guilty of first- and second-degree murder in connection with a 1994 double slaying in Rockland.

The parole board released its ruling on Tuesday, denying freedom to Glenn Hart, currently 51. Hart had his parole hearing on March 5, during which representatives from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office strongly objected to his release. Relatives of the victims also spoke out, imploring the board to turn down Hart’s bid for parole.

The incident occurred on February 11, 1994, when Hart, aged 19 at the time, gunned down 21-year-old Pierre Pauleus and 17-year-old Michael Moore amid a dispute stemming from a jacket the group had taken during an armed robbery in Brockton roughly a week earlier. A third individual sustained severe wounds in the bold attack.

In 1997, Hart was convicted of first-degree murder and received a life sentence without parole eligibility. However, a 2024 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the case of Commonwealth v. Mattis declared such sentences unconstitutional for “emerging adults” aged 18 to 20, paving the way for Hart’s parole consideration.

“This individual took the lives of two people simply because of a jacket,” stated DA Cruz. “It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment reaction to an unexpected threat. This was a deliberate act of murder, executed with calculated intent, as he came back armed to carry it out. Despite being legally an adult, this ruling granted him parole eligibility. Our team remains committed to advocating for victims across all cases and will persistently resist the liberation of dangerous offenders who have inflicted irreversible damage on our residents.”