LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel disagrees with the Kent County Circuit Court's decision to parole Catherine Wood. Wood has been in prison for over 29 years for her role in the deaths of five elderly nursing home patients at Alpine Manor in Walker.
She was sentenced to 20 to 40-years for a second-degree murder conviction.
The parole board denied Wood's case eight times, but she was granted parole at the end of 2018 on her last attempt.
Wood, who is 59 years-old, was convicted of second-degree murder 30 years ago, and she was slated to be released in October from a federal prison in Florida. Until Kent County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Rossi blocked her release.
Between 1986 and 1987, Wood and her lover Gwendolyn Graham worked as nurse's aides at Alpine Manor where they killed five of the patients.
Wood's previous parole requests were denied because of the severity of her crimes and the public safety threat. The victims' families have filed an appeal with the Kent County court to appeal their decision to parole.
On Friday, Nessel filed a brief in opposition to the court's decision.
"Repeatedly, the parole board determined Ms. Wood to be a threat to the public,” Nessel said. “I am not sufficiently persuaded that Ms. Wood does not remain a threat to the public or that she has demonstrated true remorse for the many helpless, vulnerable victims she ruthlessly murdered while in her care. She continues to be a threat to the public and it is incumbent upon me as the state’s chief law enforcement officer to do everything possible to protect our state’s residents from those who endanger them.”
Nessel's predecessor, Bill Schuette, also thought Wood should not be granted parole. In October of 2018, he sent a letter to the Michigan Parole Board asking them to rescind her parole.
Even if Wood remains in prison, her time behind bars will be relatively short-lived. Wood is slated for release no later than June of 2021.
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