GREENSBORO, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that Janet Danahey's sentence will be commuted, making her eligible for parole on January 1, 2023.
Danahey has served 20 years in prison for the murders of four people killed in a fire on UNC Greensboro's campus.
While in prison, the governor's office said Danahey has been consistently employed and has participated in educational programs.
It's been 20 years since the fire at a student apartment complex killed sisters Rachel and Donna Llewellyn, Elizabeth Harris, and Ryan Bek. Many others were injured. It was the deadliest fire in Greensboro's history when it happened.
Investigators said Danahey, a UNCG student, set outside items on fire at the Campus Walk apartment. She said she was trying to get back at an ex-boyfriend. The fire spread to the entire building.
Danahey was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Then, former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory commuted Danahey's sentence, making her eligible for parole in 2029.
Ben Finholt is the Director of the Just Sentencing Project at Duke University Law School and an expert on commutations.
"I actually don't believe I know of another case like this that has gone through two rounds of success," Finholt said. "What it says is that she has convinced governors on both sides of the aisle but she is a different person and she was at the time that she committed the crime."
Gov. Cooper's latest announcement now makes her eligible for parole on New Year's Day 2023.
Finholt said just because she becomes eligible in 2023, it does not mean that she will ever get out of prison.
"Our parole system is not known for releasing a high percentage of people. I would say it's not more likely, it's maybe less likely that she gets out anytime soon," Finholt said.
If parole commissioners review Danahey's case, they would not talk to her. Instead, they would talk to her supporters, witnesses and the victims' families.