COLUMBUS, Ohio — Bret Vinocur is a watchdog.
Twenty years ago, he started Block Parole, a website that tracks Ohio's most violent offenders and their parole dates.
"The mission is to keep the worst of the worst inmates in prison and make sure society's protected, Vinocur says, "but when there's a family available, we help them navigate the process."
The idea for the website struck Vinocur 26 years ago when a friend's mother, who had just battled cancer, was working in a carry-out store to pay off her medical bills. A man came in to rob the store, and when the woman couldn't open the safe, he shot and killed her.
That was 1997, and the continuous crime in the news inspired Vinocur to do something. Since then, it's become his full-time job.
While his goal is to help victims and their families get through the parole process, Vinocur also raises awareness to other cases around the state where there is no family left to fight. That's the case for one retired Orange City School District teacher, 57-year-old Marcia MacClellan of Shaker Heights.
MacClellan lived alone, and on March 24, 1985, she would meet a horrific end to her life.
Eighteen-year-old Alexander Bailas lived a life of privilege on Van Aken Boulevard, having been the son of a cardiovascular surgeon and a psychiatrist. By the time Bailas met MacClellan, he was a high school dropout with a history of disturbing and violent behavior.
"Look at his childhood records — he was constantly setting fires, torturing animals, breaking windows, stealing," former Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Christopher Schroeder explained. "He got expelled multiple times from school. There was an incident with his ex-girlfriend where he broke into her home and violently assaulted her and then threatened to kill her, and then assaulted the officer who showed up to respond.
"I mean, he gave every possible indication of being a true psychopath today, what they would call antisocial personality disorder."
Schroeder became involved in the case four years ago, when Bailas was attempting his second try at parole. Schroeder sent an eight-page letter of opposition to the Ohio Parole Board, which you can read below:
Schroeder is now a U.S. attorney in Alaska, and the Department of Justice doesn't deal with parole board issues. But when he learned Bailas was up for a third attempt for parole, he sent another letter — as a private citizen and former prosecutor — two weeks ago, because this case still haunts him.
"The police reports in this case were so shocking and so graphic and so gruesome that this stood out to me years later that I felt strongly about this, and that's why I sent a letter to the board," Schroeder said. "This was an absolutely horrific crime. He broke into Ms. MacClellan's home, he beat her in the head with a fireplace poker until the poker broke, he strangled her with the cord from a steam iron; then he dragged her unconscious body upstairs, filled up the bathtub, held her head under the water until she drowned. And then after that, to make sure that she was dead, he poured bleach and toilet bowl cleaner down her throat."
Bailas pleaded guilty to killing MacClellan on July 30, 1985, and has spent more than two-thirds of his life behind bars. He received 30 years to life because life without parole wasn't added as a sentence in Ohio until 1996, so the prosecutors at the time pled the case out to the maximum sentence that they could, which was life with parole eligibility after serving three decades.
Current Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Van also submitted a 10-page letter to the Ohio Parole Board contesting Bailas' possible release. Read their letter below:
Vinocur also added a petition to the Block Parole website asking the public to weigh in on this case and voice their opinion.
"The crime is consistent with the worst of the worst that I've seen," he told 3News. "The background makes him the worst I've ever seen. I've never seen a background this awful — that parallels known serial killers — like this guy."
Despite his work against violent criminals, Vinocur doesn't try to keep all offenders behind bars — he says he has a list of more than 700 inmates he will not contest because he believes rehabilitation is possible for some. According to prison records and Bailas' parole information:
"He has engaged in risk relevant programing to abate his risk of re-offending and shares insight into such. His conduct has been acceptable for many years.
"He has developed a positive and realistic reentry plan. There is community opposition present. After considering all relevant factors the Board by way of Majority Vote has determined that he is suitable for release pending Full Board determination."
Read board minutes from all three of Balias' parole hearings below:
Part of Bailas' reentry plan is to work at Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute in Shaker Heights, and the program is well known and respected for giving formerly incarcerated people a foundation in the hospitality industry. In an email to WKYC, a spokesperson for Edwins confirmed Bailas completed a prison culinary program put on by Edwins six years ago, but denied a possible job at the restaurant was a sure thing.
"He is not currently enrolled in a program, nor has he secured employment upon release," the statement read. "At Edwins we strive to keep all records confidential unless a student wants to share. The majority of our efforts and work is done behind the scenes so that we can truly make an impact with those that do become part of our program. Our mission has, and continues to support second chances and we hope the next step in his journey is positive."
Bailas, who is currently incarcerated at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Lorain County, goes before the full parole board Wednesday at 11 a.m.