Utahn once told to serve his natural life in prison is granted parole

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

UTAH STATE PRISON — A man who was once told by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole that he would serve the rest of his natural life in prison has now been granted parole.

The Board of Pardons has voted to release Larry Ross Harmon from the Utah State Prison on June 29, 2021. Harmon, who has had several significant health problems over the past couple of years including a heart attack, will be 83 when he is released and will have served 25 years in prison.

Utah State Prison

Larry Ross Harmon

In 1995, Harmon shot two men he claimed were trespassing and had threatened him. Douglas L. Greer, 27, was killed and Raymond O. Thomas, 22, was wounded.

The two men were driving a truck that got stuck in the mud in the Frampton Heights area of rural Millard County. Harmon was the only full-time resident of the sparsely populated mountain town, and was in charge of keeping an eye on the other seasonal cabins.

When Harmon spotted the men near his cabin, he ordered them to get off his property, but then followed them. He then claimed he shot them in defense. Prosecutors, however argued that the shooting was unprovoked.

Harmon was convicted of murder and attempted murder in 1996 and was sentenced to a term of five years to life in prison.

Following a parole hearing in 2008, the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole announced, “The board of pardons will give no further consideration for release,” and said Harmon “will serve (his) natural life in prison.”

But inmates are allowed to request a “redetermination review” after 10 years, according to a parole board spokesman. In order to qualify for such a review, an inmate must not have any new criminal convictions or pending major disciplinary violations, and the board must find a “significant and material change in circumstances has occurred which it has not previously considered.”

Harmon was granted a review and a new hearing in October.

During that hearing, his health issues were discussed. A day before his parole hearing, Harmon, who has equilibrium issues, tripped on his ankle restraints and fell, slamming his head on the cement pavement. He arrived at his parole hearing with 20 stitches and a bandage on his head.

Harmon told the board he regrets not calling the sheriff’s office on that day to report the trespassers rather than confronting the men himself.

“I’m very, very sorry that it happened. I wish that I could have handled it differently,” he said. “It’s not my nature. It wasn’t the way I was brought up. So I’ve been sorry ever since.”

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