The convicted murderer who killed legendary Mass State Police Trooper George L. Hanna is up for a parole hearing this week even though he was initially sentenced to life without parole.

Jose Colon is eligible for parole following the controversial Supreme Judicial Court decision that ruled “emerging adults” cannot be sentenced to life without parole.

Colon — who was 20 at the time of the murder — shot the hero trooper six times from close range on Feb. 26, 1983 in Auburn.

Now that Colon has a parole eligibility hearing this week, Gov. Maura Healey sent an opposition letter to the Parole Board on Tuesday. The Hanna Memorial Awards for Bravery is an annual ceremony named in honor of the fallen trooper to recognize valor among law enforcement officers.

“Given the extraordinary significance this case holds for our state, I believe it is necessary to voice my clear and unequivocal opposition to Jose Colon’s release,” Healey wrote to the Parole Board.

“Massachusetts rightly holds Trooper Hanna’s name as a symbol of honor and valor,” the governor later added. “Releasing the individual who fired the shots that killed Trooper Hanna would diminish the meaning of the very legacy we continue to uphold and would send a dangerous signal that deliberate killing of a police officer is anything less than the most heinous of crimes.”

As of the end of last year, the Parole Board has released 39 “emerging adult” murder convicts who were originally sentenced to life without parole.

The Massachusetts Parole Board has issued 51 parole decisions since the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that emerging adults who were 18 to 20 at the time of the offense cannot be sentenced to life without parole.

The board OK’d the release of 39 convicted first-degree murderers — and those guilty of accessory to murder — while denying parole to 12 inmates, according to state data. That’s a 76% release rate for this group so far.

“I recognize that the Board must evaluate parole matters within its legal mandate and established criteria,” Healey wrote to the board. “Nothing in this letter is intended to lessen that duty or substitute my judgment for yours. I write to state plainly that the nature of this offense, the magnitude of its harm, the welfare of this state, and the enduring public significance of Trooper Hanna’s sacrifice weigh decisively against release. For these reasons, I strongly urge the Board to deny parole for Jose Colon.”

The Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Mattis made more than 200 people eligible for parole consideration.

After 51 parole decisions so far, the state parole board has 159 decisions to go for this group of inmates.

Back in 1983, Hanna moments before the deadly shooting stopped a motor vehicle in Auburn. Three men and two women were in the vehicle, and when Hanna removed the occupants for questioning, Colon shot him six times.

Hanna died later that evening at a Worcester hospital,.

“Trooper Hanna’s family, including his wife, Marilyn, and their three children, Deborah, Kimberly, and Michael, have lived with this unimaginable loss ever since,” the governor wrote. “This offense inflicted profound and lasting harm.

“In a civil society, law enforcement officers uphold the laws that allow our communities to live in peace and safety,” Healey added. “The intentional killing of an officer in the line of duty is not only a brutal crime against one person; it is a violent assault on the rule of law and on the institutions the public depends on for safety and justice. Its impact is carried across generations by a grieving family and shouldered by a law enforcement community that will always remember and mourn its fallen.”

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The Hanna Awards, which have been held annually since 1983, have become a symbol of prestige, within both the law enforcement community and the state as a whole.

The award website reads, “It’s an opportunity to publicly recognize the bravery of members of the law enforcement community who put their lives on the line by dedicating themselves to safety throughout Massachusetts.”

Nearly 200 individuals have received the Hanna Award Medal of Honor.

“Each year, these awards remind all of us of the magnitude of Trooper Hanna’s sacrifice, the pain suffered by his loved ones, and our obligation to honor his service,” Healey wrote. “They also recognize the significant risks assumed by those who serve, and the sacrifices made by the families who support them.

“Trooper Hanna’s family has continued to honor his legacy in a deeply tangible way,” the governor added. “His daughters, Deborah and Kimberly, still present the awards in his name, keeping their father’s memory central to the Commonwealth’s recognition of courage and dedication in law enforcement. For the past 10 years, I have personally sat with Deborah and Kimberly at the Hanna Award ceremony and have witnessed the pain they continue to endure because of their father’s brutal murder.”

Gov. Maura Healey (Matt Stone/Boston Herald, File)
State police officers salute during the playing of the National Anthem at the Trooper George Hanna award ceremony in November 2024, at the State House (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald, File)