Nancy Shoemaker Killer up for parole in Texas

January 26, 2011|By Megan Strader | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — He was convicted in one of Wichita's most infamous murders. Wednesday Eyewitness News learned Doil Lane will be going in front of a Texas parole board.

Lane was one of two people convicted in the kidnapping and murder of 9-year-old Nancy Shoemaker in 1990.

But before Lane killed Nancy Shoemaker, he killed an eight year old girl in Texas. Since that murder happened first, Lane was put on death row in Texas.

Three years ago, the Texas sentence was changed to life in prison after a judge found him to be mentally retarded.

So, it came as a surprise to the Shoemaker family when they received a letter last weekend from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

It asks Nancy's father, Bo, "to assist the board in reaching a decision, please give us your input."

In other words, the letter asks the Shoemaker family if they think lane should be paroled since they are victims as well.

"We had no heads up at all. I was very surprised. I got the letter this last Saturday and it was a total shock to go from four years ago when he was on death row to now, up for parole," explains Bo Shoemaker.

The reason Shoemaker is shocked is because, as you read, it's only been a few years since Lane's sentence was changed.

If he is paroled he would still have to serve 40 years in Kansas for Nancy's murder.

The other man convicted in her death is currently in a Kansas Prison. Donald Wacker, was denied parole for a third time last March and won't be up for another parole decision until 2017.

The Shoemakers plan on doing whatever they can to fight Lane's parole. They're asking others to help as well.

You can find instructions and addresses if you want to write letters on Nancy's Facebook page. There's a link to that on the side of this webpage.

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