[Pnews] Marshall "Eddie" Conway Freed!

[Prisoner News]

  Convicted cop killer, Black Panther leader, released from prison

By Justin Fenton <http://bio.tribune.com/JustinFenton>, The Baltimore Sun
*http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-eddie-conway-black-panther-released-20140304,0,4610997.story*

4:29 p.m. EST, March 4, 2014

Former Black Panther leader and convicted cop killer Marshall "Eddie" 
Conway was released after four decades behind bars on Tuesday, after 
striking an agreement with prosecutors that his trial was unfair because 
of the way judges explained the law to juries in old cases.

Conway spent more than 40 years behind bars after being convicted in the 
1970 killing of Baltimore Police Officer Donald Sager, who was 35 at the 
time and killed in an ambush. Conway has maintained his innocence, 
saying that he was set up, and denied any role in the attack

His release Tuesday after a hearing in Baltimore Circuit Court was a 
result of the "Unger" decision, under which the state's highest court 
ruled that jurors had been given improper instructions in cases tried 
before 1980. More than a dozen people were released last summer as a 
result of the decision, and officials have said as many as 200 others 
could be released.

The Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People hailed Conway's release as a triumph.

"Today is a monumental day for the thousands of Marylanders and the 
millions around the world that have championed the release of Marshall 
"Eddie" Conway for a very long time," said President Tessa Hill-Aston. 
"The release of Conway after four decades of imprisonment is an 
important page turner in this tragic story. ... Our prayers remain with 
him as he makes the transition to freedom."

But police union officials said they were troubled by the release. In 
addition to Sager's death, another officer, Stanley Sierakowsky, was 
wounded.

"It's a very difficult thing to learn, after all these years, that he's 
not going to fulfill the sentence he was given, which was life," said 
Gene Ryan, vice president of the city's Fraternal Order of Police lodge.

This story will be updated.


Read more: 
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-eddie-conway-black-panther-released-20140304,0,4610997.story#ixzz2v25t9dkS 

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