Gordon House's freedom will have limits

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - It's been 16 years since Melanie Cravens and her three daughters were killed in a horrific DWI crash on Christmas Eve in 1992.

The man who killed them was sentenced to prison for 22 years.

Next month he'll be released after serving half his term for good behavior.

While many in the New Mexico have mixed emotions of his release—the victim's family said they don't.

In House's parole hearing, Cravens' said they forgave him.

"It's a choice; you have to choose to do it. You may not want to do it, everything inside you is saying no, but you have to do it or it turns into a poison that poisons your life," Melanie's husband and step-father to her three daughters, Paul Cravens said.

Paul Cravens is the sole survivor of the horrific crash that claimed the life of his entire family.

Friday, he watched the man responsible for their deaths cry as his wife's brother read three letters to the New Mexico Parole Board.

One of the letters was written by Lance Milford, Melanie's brother while the other two were written by Melanie's sisters.

Milford read a portion of the one of the letters he read at the hearing,

"Gordon you must carry such a heavy weight of guilt from that Christmas Eve night it is one that is too heavy for you and never meant for you to carry alone."

It was an emotional day for both families.

House's prison release date is set for March 6.

While his freedom will come with parole restrictions, he will be able to go home to his wife and kids. Something Paul Cravens will never be able to do again.

For the past 16 years he's carried the pictures of his wife and step-daughters, but he's also been carrying the burden of trying to move on.