In July 1988 the family of Brandon Elledge, a popular Clements High School junior, received word from the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office that their beloved son was dead—the victim of a senseless murder. In the fog of grief, anger and confusion that followed the horrendous crime, Ben Elledge vowed to put and keep his son’s killers behind bars. Now nearly 20 years later, he is accepting the fact that the triggerman is going to be freed from the state correctional facility in February 2009.

“A day, that perhaps had to come, is upon Betty and me, and we feel that a lot needs to be said and some things simply cannot be left unsaid,” Ben Elledge said last week. “The person who planned, led, and finally pulled the trigger of the gun that murdered our second son, Brandon, that fateful day in July 1988, is to be released in February of 2009.”

Elledge said he and his wife, Betty, and the rest of the Elledge family made the painful decision “not to spend another Christmas fighting to keep Timothy Acklen in prison. Every year we’ve spent the holidays rallying the community and meeting with parole boards—for nearly 20 years—and we decided they (the parole board) were determined to let Acklen out, so when given the opportunity to have some input, we made the decision to stop fighting. A lot of people said ‘you can stop it, don’t stop fighting’ and I can’t say how much the support of the community has meant to our family—it has been overwhelming, but the emotional toll it has taken on our family year after year is unimaginable,” Elledge explained. So, when the parole board made the yearly notification that Acklen was again being considered for release in 2009, after the ink was barely dry on the paperwork from last year keeping the convicted murderer in jail for one more year. The massive letter writing campaign from citizens in Fort Bend County and throughout the state was the result of the Ell edge’s outcry, public appearances and news stories, detailing once again, the horrendous act of violence that snuffed out the life of a promising high school athlete, excellent student and beloved family member. But what many failed to realize is the fact that each year when Ben Elledge rallied the community, he and his family had to relive the horrible ordeal once again.

“For those that don’t recall the crime—on July 14th,1988 our son Brandon was at Clements High School lifting weights with his fellow football players, when Timothy Acklen and his primary accomplice, James Garcia, came there with the intent of committing murder and stealing the stereo system from our son Brandon’s pickup truck. It was a well thought-out and well rehearsed plan. They lured him to the levee road behind Sweetwater Country Club where lookouts were in place and upon receiving the “all clear” signal, Acklen shot him point blank in the face,” Elledge remembers.

Elledge also remembers going to the location of the shooting and seeing the aftermath —it has played over and over in his mind for 20 years as he fought for justice in a criminal justice system that has seemed to be broken from day one.

This year, Elledge met with The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole and cut a “deal” so to speak, that includes some protection and a face-to-face meeting with his son’s killer. The Elledge family agreed to a release date for Acklen—“ on very restrictive parole.”

Part of the agreement, includes reassurances that “my family will be specifically shielded from any and all contact from Mr. Acklen and he may not ever come into the county where my family and I live. It is an involved and very restrictive release. Hopefully he will prove to be the model and exemplary person on the outside as he has been reported to have been on the inside of prison. If this is the case.....then he should adapt to his new life as a somewhat free person. If he is a true sociopath, which I hope to God he isn’t...then there will be trouble and the board will have made a gross error.” Elledge reveals.

Thousands of people rallied behind Elledge’s plight last year and successfully changed the mind of parole officials who had set a release date on Acklen and seemed immoveable in their decision. So, people are asking Elledge why he made the decision to give up the 20 year battle.

“The answer is...the board was determined to let him out and I felt that while I had some leverage or “people power” I should push for the best release terms possible for me and my family. The mental torture for my family and for me to have to re-live every moment of that awful day year after year was just more than I felt we should have to bear any more. There is no question that the years of battle to see justice served has taken a toll on me and my family. Every interview, every television show, while necessary to get the word out, took a toll on me especially as I had to relive those horrible times over and over again,” he explained.

“Ultimately the Parole Board itself,.... led by Commissioner Jose Aliseda Jr. and Mr. Edgar Morales, convinced me that if there was ever a prisoner who had committed such a horrible crime that should get a second chance at life....this was the one case in a thousand that seemed to fit that profile. Their influence was substantial in my decision. Their statement about Acklen being “a very rare case in a place like the Connolly Unit , where being a model prisoner was no small feat,” had an effect on me.

“I think I was most moved by Mr. Aliceda’s statement that I should go see Acklen for myself. And that is what I plan to do. I have a lot of questions I would like to ask him,” Elledge said.

Any parent can understand the primary question that has haunted Ben and Betty Elledge all these many years. Elledge said he felt compelled to ask why Acklen did it and “then some questions that haunt my nightmares--like--did Brandon suffer or cry out? I think such questions are may not be useful to anyone but me and my family but they are important and I feel I must ask them,” Elledge said.

The rest of the questions will pertain to accomplices and if Acklen feels remorse or accepts the responsibility of the “horror he inflicted on our son, our family and his family.”

“Last year he (Acklen) would have been released,....he was scheduled for release and would have been, if it had not been for the near heroic efforts of so many who rose up and said this is not going to happen! It took a huge effort and the odds are I will never know how many formal objections there were, but it was certainly in the thousands. To all of those who stood up and were counted, the Elledge family is most grateful for your efforts and concern. Through your efforts and your power, that yet remains in force, his sentence will for all practical purposes have been extended two additional years from when he was due to be released last year. Such is the power of the people! He will have served less than half of the 50-year sentence he received and his accomplice is still behind bars and has not been considered for parole. I can’t explain this, but I do plan to explain a lot of things in a two-part book that I plan to release on Brandon’s life and on his murder and all the resulting discoveries since that horrible day,” said Elledge.

On the day his son was killed Elledge started logging all of his feelings, reflections of his son’s life and the events that followed as an emotional diary, of sorts, to keep his sanity when the world was crashing around him. This diary or journal eventually will be put together in the book—So You Want to Be A Ranger?” Elledge said the first book will detail how Brandon overcame physical problems—crippled legs and a lung problem—and was able to be a normal, happy, teenager with star athlete qualities.

The second book will follow the aftermath of the crime—including “the loose ends of the case and the surrounding stories are addressed and I plan to leave no stone left unturned. I did after all search for almost three years under every rock and cranny in Fort Bend County and what I found, the good the bad and the ugly, is all in the book,” Elledge said.

He said the second story will reveal names of suspects never charged in the case; powerful forces in the community that thwarted his quest for justice because of economic gain and other events he has been unable to mention and unable to reveal because he feared it would impact his quest to keep Acklen incarcerated for the crime. Elledge said he did not care to make money from the books, and most likely will self-publish, but did want those in the community who supported his efforts to know the whole story—and those in the community who “thought what they did would never be disclosed” to see their names in print.”