A man serving a life sentence for fatally shooting the son of Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons, in 1995 in Brockton, was granted parole Wednesday, prompting outrage from Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, who said his office will “continue to oppose the release of violent criminals.”

The state Parole Board granted release to Ernest Benjamin, 50, who was convicted of first-degree murder for the July 1995 slaying of Anthony Simmons, 27.

Simmons was the son of Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons, according to published reports . At Benjamin’s hearing in April, she urged the board to reject his request for release, WBUR reported .

“He did not just kill a man,” Simmons told the board, according to WBUR. “He devastated an entire family,” she said. “My daughters lost their brother.

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