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Web site fights against possible parole for killer
A web site solicits comments from the public Public asked to comment on Steinberg case
December 23, 1997
Web posted at: 12:12 p.m. EST (1712 GMT)NEW YORK (CNN) -- In 1987, Lisa Steinberg was a bubbly 6 year old who died a premature death from wounds suffered during a brutal beating carried out by the man authorities had initially believed was her legal guardian. The case shocked the nation and prompted reforms in state child protection laws.
Ten years later, the convicted killer, Joel Steinberg, is eligible for parole, and New York prosecutors are working to rally public opinion against him over the World Wide Web.
Steinberg, an unlicensed New York lawyer who had illegally adopted Lisa, was convicted of manslaughter in the killing. He was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison and first became eligible for parole two years ago.
The web site includes a picture of Lisa and Mitchell Steinberg New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco, whose office launched the site Monday, says he's soliciting public replies because Lisa has no family to speak on her behalf at Steinberg's second parole hearing.
Vacco makes it clear what his opinion is, calling Steinberg a "despicable monster" and saying he opposes parole.
The site titled "Joel Steinberg: Up for Parole. What's your opinion?" urges the public to sound off on the possible parole.
"New Yorkers and Americans are invited to come to the Web site, go to the page, and comment whether or not Joel Steinberg should be paroled in January," said Mollie Conkey, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.
The page includes a photograph of Lisa and Mitchell, an infant also illegally adopted by Steinberg. Mitchell was returned to his biological mother when he was 18 months old.
Most comments oppose parole
Comments on the Web site are not accepted without names, addresses or e-mail addresses, but the messages that appear on the page are identified only by the sender's location. Most are from New York state, while some come from as far away as Casselberry, Florida.
The vast majority of the comments support Vacco's position.
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"I read in the newspaper that Lisa had no one to speak up for her. Yes, she does," one person from the New York borough of Queens wrote. "Please do not allow that monster Steinberg (to) go free. He should spend the rest of his life in jail for what he did."
But another writer in Manhattan expressed sympathy for the convicted killer: "I say, if he make(s) his parole, and he is really reformed, then let him rebuild his life."
Steinberg is scheduled to plead his case again before the parole board next month. He was turned down for parole in 1995 when the board found that he had continued to deny responsibility for Lisa's death.
Vacco insists the Web site is not high-tech grandstanding, adding that he may use similar Web sites in other cases.
"This is a first of its kind experiment, we think, with the criminal justice system here in New York state," he said. "We're contemplating actually using this for similar situations in the future."
Case highlighted problem of child abuse
The case of Lisa Steinberg called attention to the problem of child abuse and led to reforms in New York's child welfare laws.
Steinberg, a lawyer practicing without a license, called himself the girl's adoptive father but no adoption was legally recognized. Lisa was given to Steinberg my an unwed teen-age mother who believed he would arrange an adoption. But Steinberg instead raised Lisa on his own.
Steinberg was accused of hitting Lisa on the head and not seeking medical attention while she was dying. The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of Steinberg's lover, Hedda Nussbaum, who claimed Steinberg had also beaten her and that she and Steinberg used cocaine while Lisa lay on the bathroom floor.
The jury acquitted Steinberg of second-degree murder charges, but convicted him of manslaughter with a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Nussbaum was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony.
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- Office of the Attorney General, State of New York
- New York State Commission of Correction
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