By a vote of 4-0 - and over the objection of Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch '87 - the Rhode Island Parole Board decided Wednesday to release Daniel Biechele in March 2008 after 22 months served in prison. Biechele had been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in lighting the illegal pyrotechnics responsible for 100 deaths in the 2003 Station nightclub fire in West Warwick.
Biechele earned the parole board's favor by showing "very true remorse" and reaching out to victims and their families, said Lisa Holley, the parole board's chair, in a statement to the Providence Journal.
The Station nightclub fire occurred at approximately 11 p.m. on February 20, 2003, as the band Great White began playing to a packed crowd.
Flammable sound-proofing behind the stage was ignited by Biechele's pyrotechnics. The narrow hallway in the nightclub's main entrance became clogged as audience members attempted to exit, trapping them. There were no sprinkler systems present to contain the blaze. In addition to the 100 killed, approximately 200 spectators were injured.
In a Sept. 19 press release, Lynch said he opposes Biechele's early release, just as he sought a harsher sentence during his trial last year. "Although I disagree with the board's decision, I respect it, because it is the product of a careful consideration that has included the voice of victims, whose voices matter more than anybody else's," he said in the statement.
