The Governor’s Council has approved Gov. Maura Healey’s prosecutor nominee for the Massachusetts Parole Board after councilors rejected her last candidate over fears he would “go too far in ensuring public safety.”

The appointment of a new member comes as the Parole Board has made a string of decisions to free violent convicted criminals.

Councilors voted 6-2 Wednesday to appoint former prosecutor Kaitlyn O’Leary in July, who already has a job in the Parole Board’s administrative arm.

Some councilors who voted against Healey’s previous pick for the board, prosecutor Vincent DeMore, expressed their reluctance to fill the vacant seat with such a candidate.

“She is a prosecutor. I don’t really like prosecutors on the board, but this (Parole Board seat) has been vacant for a long time. We have six members and we should have seven,” said longtime Councilor Christopher Ianella, of Boston.

Ianella had voted against DeMore in May, but voted in favor of O’Leary on Wednesday.

Ianella explained to the Herald his desire to have the Parole Board made up of more members with backgrounds in social work and psychology.

“I don’t really think a prosecutor advocates oftentimes for the victim and their families. You know, I guess I’ll ask you, if you were going in front of someone and you had a crime (you were convicted of), would you rather go in front of a prosecutor or a social worker?” Ianella asked. “I think the problem with prosecutors, oftentimes, is they retry the case. When someone is looking to be paroled, the Parole Board members shouldn’t retry their case. They should see how they are doing in prison. Have they been rehabilitated? What’s the future for these people?”

Councilor Tara Jacobs, who represents western Massachusetts on the council, voted against O’Leary and also voted against DeMore in May. Jacobs said O’Leary was “not offering what I want to see.” She added that O’Leary’s prosecutorial experience will add no value to the Parole Board.

“Her answers in the hearing did not land with me in the same way that our one-on-one did. So that was a factor. Ultimately, I’m coming from a place of, you know, what do I think the Parole Board needs? She’s not offering what I want to see,” Jacobs said.

“I don’t think the experience and value she brings is any additive value to what the Parole Board work is, and the Parole Board’s work is grounded in evaluating and assessing whether or not someone has transformed, whether they’ve rehabilitated, whether or not they’re safe for re-entry into society. She talked about things like assessments and risk evaluation, but in a very superficial way,” she said.

Jacobs went on to praise the work of the Parole Board, which has allowed the release from prison of dozens of criminals convicted of violent felonies, including first-degree murder. The board granted early release to alleged Cambridge mass shooter Tyler Brown from his already light five-year sentence for shooting at police officers.

The Parole Board also recently freed the killer of an 87-year-old Boston woman. The family stated that they only learned of the release through a Herald news article.

Healey stressed the importance of filling the vacancy on the board when she made the nomination of O’Leary.

“I was here before. I’m here again,” Healey said in her pitch to the Governor’s Council last week. “This is important to me. This is important in Massachusetts. I’m putting forward another nominee for the Parole Board.”

“She’s smart, thoughtful, compassionate, collaborative, someone who leads with integrity and treats people fairly. That’s who she was then, that’s who she is now, and I know that these qualities will make her an outstanding member of the Parole Board,” she said.

Asked if there is any room on the board for an advocate for victims, witnesses and their families, based on the high number of convicted murderers that have been released on parole in recent months, Jacobs said victims are already represented, adding that “some fall through the cracks.”

“To denigrate the work that the board does on a daily basis just truly troubles me because I know how hard they’re working, and I know how seriously they take their work and how many hours they put towards it on a weekly basis,” Jacobs said. “They deserve our support. They have mine. Victims are not absent from the process, but some people fall through the cracks.”

Jacobs and Councilor Paul DePalo, of Worcester, comprised the two votes against O’Leary.

“Should a prosecutor serve on the Parole Board? My answer is yes. I know there are people who believe a former prosecutor has no place on the Parole Board, but I respectfully disagree,” Councilor Tamisha Civil, of Stoughton, who voted in favor of O’Leary.

“Let’s be clear about what a prosecutor does. A prosecutor’s job is not simply to ask for people to be incarcerated. I should know that as a former victim witness advocate. Prosecutors are charged with seeking justice. That can mean incarceration, but it can also mean diversion, treatment, mental health services, substance use treatment, rehabilitation, and other resources when those options serve justice,” she said.

Healey nominated O’Leary in July. The now confirmed new member already had a role in the Parole Board’s administrative arm as deputy general counsel and interstate compact administrator.

Prior to that role, O’Leary served as an ADA in both the Plymouth and Bristol DA’s offices and as an assistant attorney general under then-AG Healey in the Massachusetts AG’s office.