Springville • The man who sexually abused her over and over again for years was supposed to die in prison.
When the Utah parole board ruled that Lon Kennard would never be released for inappropriately touching his four adopted daughters, Shumba Bila felt relieved. She could move on with her life without having to worry that he may harm others.
Then she received a letter in July. It was a page and a half form letter that quoted heavily from administrative rules.
Bila read in disbelief that Kennard would go free under the Utah State Prison’s “compassionate release” program, which allows prisoners to leave state custody if they have serious medical issues that require more care than the prison can give them.