Terrified wife begs parole board not to free attorney husband who took two hits out on her, and attempted to kill her with poison TOOTHPASTE at comfortable family home
Staci Jones is campaigning against the possible parole of her former husband, Fred Wortman, who was jailed in 2015 after admitting multiple attempts to have her killed during their divorce. She says she fears he remains a danger to her and has launched a petition urging the Tennessee parole board to keep him in prison.
Wortman received a 30-year sentence after admitting two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of solicitation of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said he poisoned Jones’s toothpaste with aconitum, sought to hire an undercover agent posing as a hitman, and later tried to arrange her killing through another inmate; he became eligible for parole after serving 30% of his sentence. His 2019 parole request was denied, and his next hearing is scheduled for 9 September; Jones’s petition had about 8,400 signatures.
- Wife opposes parole for ex-husband convicted of repeated murder attempts.
- He was sentenced to 30 years in 2015.
- A parole board hearing is scheduled for 9 September.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Keeping Wortman in prison would prioritise Jones’s safety and public protection, given the seriousness, persistence and apparently planned nature of the offences he admitted. Supporters may argue that repeated efforts to arrange her death, including conduct from custody, provide a rational basis to doubt that the risk has passed, and that the victim’s continuing fear should carry substantial weight in any parole decision.
The case against
A parole hearing can reasonably consider whether a prisoner who committed grave offences has nevertheless changed during incarceration, rather than treating the original sentence as requiring its full term in every case. Supporters of release might argue that eligibility exists to allow an evidence-based assessment of rehabilitation, behaviour, treatment, remorse and a structured risk-management plan, while recognising that parole can be denied or tightly conditioned if those safeguards are not convincing.