"We always live in fear of a case like this," says Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan.

The prison doors opened for Matthew Macon on June 26 after the state parole board deemed him ready to rejoin society after an on-again-off-again stint in prison.

That recent parolee is who police are calling Lansing's "Serial Killer."

"The parole board reviewed his file, reviewed all his criminal history, talked with him, and made the decision he wasn't going to be a menace to society," he says.

Marlan says it's up to the state parole board to determine who gets released and who doesn't. Once a prisoner serves his or her minimum sentence, the case is reviewed by two or three board members chosen from a set panel of 10. They review around 25,000 cases a year-- and usually only parole around half of those.

"It's impossible to know a human being's future behavior. They take in all the information we have available and make the best decision based on that."

Marlan says Macon's particular case was reviewed by board member James Atterberry, who initially interviewed macon and gave him the okay, and then by Chairman Barbara Sampson, who signed off on Macon's release.

"He's been accused of some horrible, horrible tragedies," Marlan says. "The parole board members who voted this case will take these to heart, take them very seriously"

We had no luck reaching Atterberry or Sampson to ask them about their decisions, but legally they aren't required to explain themselves or their decision.