Web posted
Friday, September 22, 2006
Convicted murderer up for parole
Former Traveler typesetter stabbed in brutal 1989 killing by a teenage boy
By JAMES JORDAN
Traveler Editor
A parole hearing was to be held this morning for Timothy Monasmith in Garden City.
Monasmith was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Earl W. West in 1989 in Arkansas City.
West had been a Traveler typesetter and printer for 50 years. He was 83 at the time of his death.
West's daughter, Phyllis Wernsman, lives in Colorado and planned to be at the hearing to speak against Monasmith being paroled.
Another hearing will be held in December at Wichita.
Monasmith, 36, is having his first parole hearings after having spent the last 16 years in prison. Most of those years were in the Hutchinson facility. He was transferred to Norton prison Oct. 13, 2000 and then to Lansing prison Aug. 17 2004, where he remains in minimum security custody.
He could potentially be released on parole in early 2007, but according to Dept of Corrections officials, it is rare for a person to be granted parole at their first hearing.
Complaints and opposition by victims' families also weigh heavily on decisions about granting parole.
According to reports in the Traveler, West was found murdered in his home at 211 E. Monroe, on Feb. 11, 1989. He had been stabbed 20 times.
Police at the time were unsure if the two men knew each other, but there had been no sign of forced entry into the home. They lived in the same neighborhood.
Monasmith was turned in and delivered to the police the next day by family members. He was 18 at that time. He was sentenced and sent to prison the following July.
At that time he apologized to the family, and said he had intended to rob West, but not kill him.
A Tennessee man, identified as a drifter, was also arrested and charged with being an accessory to the murder.
Wernsman wants to encourage others who are interested to attend the hearing or send comments to the department of corrections.
Anyone may send comments to the state dept of corrections, to either support or oppose parole. The address is: Kansas Parole Board, Landon State Office Building, 900 SW Jackson St. Room 452 S, Topeka, KS 66612-1220.
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