LANSING (WWJ) — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed an emergency appeal seeking to reverse the parole granted to a man convicted of multiple rapes.
Nessel filed the appeal Wednesday in the 30th Circuit Court in Ingham County in hopes of preventing the release of 56-year-old William Lamont Bonds.
Bonds, who was briefly paroled last year before breaking conditions of his release, is scheduled to be released from the Carson City Correctional Facility on parole on Feb. 20, 2025.
In 1992 Bonds sexually assaulted two victims in separate instances, according to the AG’s office. The following year an Ingham County jury found him guilty of one count each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, receiving and concealing stolen property over $100 and breaking and entering an occupied building with intent.
These convictions stemmed from his rape of one victim at gunpoint and he was sentenced to 30-45 years in prison.
In a separate case in 1994, Bonds pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after breaking into another victim’s home and raping her, according to Nessel’s office. He received an additional, concurrent sentence of 25-45 years.
Last month the Michigan Parole Board granted Bonds a 24-month term parole. After that decision was made, one of his victims contacted Nessel’s office seeking help in preventing his release. After reviewing the matter, the AG’s department “concluded, per the filed appeal, that the Parole Board’s decision to ‘grant Bonds parole is a clear abuse of the Board’s discretion.’”
The AG’s office says Bonds’ criminal history dates back to 1986 and includes stealing from a car and breaking into a home.
Prior to his sentencing in 1994, a screening report described Bonds as a “serious threat to women in the community” and recommended a lengthy period of incarceration “because Bonds just does not understand the seriousness of his criminal behavior.”
Over the course of his incarceration, the AG’s office says Bonds has accumulated nearly 100 “misconduct tickets,” including one for threatening a female nurse. He also received misconduct tickets involving other female prison staff and a female Administrative Law Judge.
In 2023, Bonds was paroled despite ongoing concerns outlined in evaluations. As a condition of his release, he was required to complete the Residential Sexual Abuse Prevention Program. But within two weeks of his release, Bonds was unsuccessfully discharged from the program for noncompliance, according to Nessel’s office. The Parole Board revoked his parole shortly after, sending him back into custody with the Michigan Department of Corrections.
“Mr. Bonds is not a suitable candidate for parole, and the Parole Board decision to grant him parole again is both puzzling and dangerous,” Nessel said. “Allowing his release, especially so soon after his failure to comply with prior parole conditions, is a blatant abuse of discretion given the overwhelming facts and circumstances. Records from his incarceration and his previous parole violation show that he continues to minimize the severity of his crimes. For the safety of our community, Bonds should remain in prison.”
“The Attorney General argues that the Parole Board’s decision to grant Bonds parole, less than a year after he violated his previous parole conditions, warrants immediate reversal,” a press release concluded.