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Peggy Brockway of Lewes fights parole for son's killer

Annual hearing for Ransford Bryan III set Jan. 24
January 22, 2017

For more than a quarter of a century, Peggy Brockway has fought to keep the man who shot her son in prison.

Pleading her case to the Delaware prison parole board is an annual routine for her now. Every year, she said she relives the pain and hurt of losing her son.

“I think we have fought a good fight,” she said. “I can only hope and pray that they make the right decision.”

In 1987, Brockway lost her son Douglas when his friend, Ransford Bryan, shot him in the back of the head. The two friends had gone squirrel hunting, but only Bryan returned. Douglas' body was found two weeks later in a wooded area in Sussex County.

Bryan was living with the Brockways at the time of the shooting, and he continued living with them as the family and authorities searched for Douglas.

Brockway said she feels betrayed and hurt by Bryan, who pretended to know nothing about the shooting while the family desparately searched for answers. During a criminal investigation of the case, she said, federal investigators discovered more than $1,000 had been withdrawn from Douglas' bank account, and they said Bryan took it.

Bryan originally pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder during a 1987 jury trial, contending Douglas' death was accidental. He eventually accepted a plea bargain resulting in a life sentence without possibility of parole.

In 1990, the Supreme Court of Delaware ordered a new trial for Bryan, ruling police improperly questioned Bryan after his arrest without an attorney present. As a result of the appeal, his sentence was changed to life with the possibility of parole.

Bryan, now in his mid-40s, has been incarcerated at Sussex Correctional Institution since he was 18. His first parole hearing was in 2004, with a second in 2008. Brockway said the frequency of parole hearings then increased to every other year until 2014. Now a parole hearing is held annually. 

Attorney Andrew Rosen has represented Bryan since 2008, and, he said, Bryan has been model prisoner and deserves parole. “I have a stack of certificates that he has earned, and no write-ups,” he said.

Rosen said Bryan has not only has participated in programs, but he now serves as an instructor or facilitator for several programs, including Alternatives to Violence.

“He’s done all his growing up and maturing in prison,” Rosen said. “This situation is not the sort of thing that is repeated. He’s not likely to reoffend. It’s not that kind of offense.”

But Brockway disagrees. She says once someone has committed a crime such as murder or rape, they are capable of doing it again. Every year, like clockwork, Brockway puts out fliers and passes out a petition for as many people as she can get to sign to keep Bryan in prison. So far, she said, she has 2,000 signatures, and she is hoping for 2,500 by Tuesday, Jan. 24, when the parole hearing is held.

“I'm going in feeling positive, but you never know,” she said.

Brockway said she will be joined by her sister and her two surviving children.

Petitions are available at her hair salon, Mickey's Magic Mirror on Third Street in Lewes, and at Atlantic Liquors and the Long Neck Diner.

She said she is encouraged by the number of new signatures this year. “We have a lot of new ones, which is impressive,” she said.

She also said if needed, she could make arrangements to meet someone interested in signing the petition.

For more information, call Brockway at 725-7760.

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