RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) – A Yadkin County man sentenced to life for first-degree murder is about to be released from prison.

Clarence S. Beamer, now 48, of Hamptonville, convicted in January 1992 in Yadkin County Superior Court, will be released by the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission, the latest in a series of releases for persons sentenced before 1994.

The state’s formal announcement on Wednesday about Beamer did not include his release date, but the Yadkin Ripple in 2019 had reported he would be freed on Oct. 4, 2022.

Beamer was convicted on Jan. 24, 1992, of murdering Henry Rufus Shaffer of Hamptonville, who was shot and his mobile home set on fire in August 1991, the Yadkin Ripple reported.

In addition to his life sentence on the murder charge, Beamer would face a 15-year consecutive sentence for first-degree burglary. He already completed a 12-year concurrent sentence for second-degree arson.

He had no prior record for incarceration on the NC Department of Public Safety’s offender database.

His release is part of the commission’s Mutual Agreement Parole Program, which is for criminals convicted before Oct. 1, 1994, when state statute ended parole.

He is at least the fifth inmate from the Piedmont Triad to be designated or granted parole under this program in the past six months.

The program

The state’s release says that MAPP is a “scholastic and vocational program” that is a 3-way agreement among the commission, the Division of Prisons and the offender.

To be part of the MAPP program, an inmate must show a desire to improve educational and training programs and a self-improvement process. There is a 3-year walk-up to release that, the MAPP website states, requires the inmate:

• To be in medium or minimum custody.
• Not to be subject to a detainer or pending court action that could result in further confinement.
• To be infraction-free for a period of 90 days before being recommended.
• If sentenced under the Fair Sentencing Act, to be eligible for 270-day parole or community-service parole.

Beamer most recently has been housed in the Davidson Correctional Center in Lexington. He has been charged with 15 infractions while in custody, one for assaulting a person with a weapon, three for fighting, three for disobeying an order, two for tobacco use and other smaller or vague offenses. His most recent was for a “high risk act” on Feb. 27, 2017.

The commission will accept your questions if you call 919-716-3010.