In a surprising decision, James Parker, a man who had been incarcerated for over two decades for the brutal murder of two Dartmouth College professors, has been granted parole. At the age of 16, Parker conspired with his best friend, Robert Tulloch, in a crime that claimed the lives of Half and Susanne Zantop in Hanover, New Hampshire, back in 2001.

Now nearly 40 years old, Parker appeared before the state parole board after serving the minimum term of his 25-years-to-life sentence for being an accomplice to second-degree murder. During Thursday's parole hearing, Parker expressed remorse and called the crime he committed "unimaginably horrible." "I know there's not an amount of time or things that I can do to change it or alleviate any pain that I've caused," Parker acknowledged, adding, "I'm just deeply sorry."

Parker had previously sought a reduction in his sentence in 2018 but withdrew the petition in 2019 following objections from the Zantops' two daughters. Although eligible for a sentence reduction after serving two-thirds of his term, Parker decided against pursuing it further.

The chilling details of the crime revealed that Parker and Tulloch, then 16 and 17 years old respectively, hatched a plan to acquire $10,000 for a move to Australia. They devised a scheme to knock on homeowners' doors, posing as environmental surveyors, before restraining their victims and stealing their credit cards and ATM information. Their intention was to force the captives to provide access codes before ultimately killing them.

Parker cooperated with prosecutors and agreed to testify against Tulloch, shedding light on how they selected the Zantop residence due to its perceived wealth and secluded location. On January 27, 2001, Half Zantop allowed them into the house. Parker revealed that the interview lasted around 10 minutes before Tulloch fatally stabbed Half Zantop and then instructed Parker to attack Susanne Zantop, whom he also stabbed.

After stealing Half Zantop's wallet containing approximately $340 and a list of numbers, the pair realized they had left behind knife sheaths at the crime scene. Their attempt to retrieve the sheaths was thwarted when they spotted a police officer in the driveway. Fingerprints on a sheath and a bloody boot print linked them to the murders. Following police questioning, they fled and hitchhiked west before their arrest at an Indiana truck stop weeks later.

While Parker has now been granted parole, Tulloch, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, received a mandatory life sentence without parole. However, due to a 2012 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court deeming it unconstitutional to impose mandatory life imprisonment without parole on juvenile offenders, Tulloch is scheduled for a resentencing hearing in June.

This recent decision has reopened discussions surrounding the re-sentencing of individuals who committed heinous crimes as teenagers and raises questions about the appropriate punishment for such offenses.