Parole board has hearing for man convicted of murdering cab driver as teen

NATICK, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A man convicted of brutally killing a cab driver in Lawrence in the 1980s appeared before the state parole board Thursday after being deemed eligible for parole due to a Supreme Court decision that ruled life without parole for a juvenile offender violates the Constitution's cruel and unusual punishment clause.

Jose Tevenal was 16 years old when he murdered 38-year-old Paul Morel in Lawrence in February, 1985.
Tevenal and two friends decided to call a cab, and then rob it. When the cab arrived, Tevenal pointed a gun at Morel and demanded money. Morel handed over his money, $43, and then Tevenal shot him six times, at close range. Tevenal was convicted of first degree murder, armed robbery, and carrying a firearm unlawfully.

He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the murder, 20 years in jail to be served concurrently for the robbery, and three to five years concurrently for the gun charge.

Tevenal is now eligible for parole after the state's Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2013 to apply the Supreme Court's ruling must be applied retroactively to those previously sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

"I shot Mr. Morel, the cab driver six times, killing him. I was a fool," he said during Thursday's hearing. "A teenager with no direction."

At the parole hearing, he said he is a changed man who has found God. He also blamed substance abuse, and an abusive mother for his state of mind back in 1985.

"I felt like, if I did a crazy act it would booster my reputation in the neighborhood," he said.

Morel's family said they want him to stay right where he is in prison.

"We don't believe he's ready to get out of jail, we don't want him out of jail, we think he'll do it again," said Morel's brother-in-law, Ron Suzor.

Morel's sister, Karen Suzor, testified at Tevenal's hearing Thursday.

"It's good that he's at peace. But let him be at peace in prison," she said.

There are 65 people in Massachusetts who were convicted for murder as teenagers and sentenced to life without parole, according to the state department of public safety. Currently, 45 of those people are eligible for parole now.

Cox Media Group