FULL TEXT: Salem -- Convicted killer Michelle Burks, who stabbed her victim [Neva Vasil] 200 times, was scheduled for a parole hearing Wednesday morning. The victim's family said they don't want Burk, convicted in 1988, to walk free.
'We're just trying to keep her in prison, we don't think that she's ready to be released, we think she's still a danger to society, said Jay Cole, great-grandson of Neva Vasil, who was 78 when she was killed.
Burks was sentenced to life in prison she committed the crime while under age 16. She was denied parole in 2009.
Cole said that there was no assurance that Burks would not kill again if set free. He said Burks was “manipulating the system to get parole so she can be out again.”
On the website of an evangelist named Mel Novak, Burks said she has found faith in Jesus Christ for a rough life of drug abuse and prostitution.
'I know that the Lord saved me from a life headed straight to hell in a proverbial hand-basket. He has given me a new hope & a sweet future and I love to share with anyone who will listen to me what Jesus has saved me from. 15 years ago I came to prison for murder. I was angry, scared, and full of pain, believing that God would never love me nor forgive me. I was 15 years old, a run-away teen-age prostitute and crack addict. I stabbed and killed an elderly woman under the influence of crack cocaine after a run that lasted several weeks. My crime occurred on June 29, 1988. The family of Mrs. Vasil hated me all these years and I have carried a burden of the pain that I caused them. I had never been able to overcome it. I thought that they would always hate me and that they would never forgive me. I fasted and prayed asking God to speak to their hearts.'
[“Killer who stabbed victim 200 times up for parole; Convicted killer Michelle Burks, who stabbed her victim 200 times, was scheduled for a parole hearing Wed,” KREM, Jul. 6, 2011]
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