Parole board denies requests from three killers

The state parole board today shot down bids for freedom from three convicted murderers serving life terms for Charleston-area killings.

The parole board decided that Reginald Mack, 65, was a bad fit for parole and must serve at least two more years before getting another shot at freedom. He was convicted in the 1972 execution-style killing of liquor store owner Joseph A. Moluf Jr. in Charleston.

The board also turned down Nerion Hazelton, 66, who shot 35-year-old Calvin Simmons in the head during a festering argument over money in July 1992 in West Ashley.

The parole board cited the serious nature and violent nature of their crimes, their use of deadly weapons and prior criminal records, said Pete O’Boyle, spokesman for the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. The board also cited Mack’s failure to successfully complete community supervision he was granted after a prior parole request was granted in 1988, he said.

Moluf’s sister, Betty Turner of Mount Pleasant, traveled to Columbia for the hearing and said she grateful the board turned down Mack’s request. “We were very pleased,” she said.

The parole board also denied a request from Robert Sibilia, 55, who received two life sentences for fatally shooting Bernard Fore and kidnapping Frieda Jones in Berkeley County in 1982, authorities said. Details on that ruling were not immediately available.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or Twitter.com/glennsmith5.