The survey was occasioned by Massachusetts' granting 10 home furloughs to William Horton, Jr., with the last furlough involving an escape to Maryland, where he held a couple hostage for 11 hours, raping the woman twice at gunpoint and repeatedly stabbing her fiance. Forty-five States and the Federal prison system reported that an inmate with Horton's sentence would not have been released on a weekend pass under their furlough criteria. Horton might have been granted a furlough in four other States: Connecticut, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Texas. These States do not have a life-without-parole sentence. Horton's only hope of any form of release in most States would be through a commutation of his sentence by the governor. Massachusetts corrections officials said approval of Horton's furlough requests was 'routine' and according to 'proper guidelines.' There is currently a bill before the Massachusetts legislature to ban furlough for inmates convicted of first-degree murder. A State-by-State listing of furlough policies for first-degree murderers.