DETROIT (AP) - The Michigan Supreme Court has changed the last sentence of a June opinion, an edit that could lead to the release of a prison inmate in an unusual case about the powers of governors.
Three months ago, the court said Gov. Jennifer Granholm illegally reversed a decision that had lifted Matthew Makowski's no-parole sentence in 2010. But the parole board still won't release him.
In an order last week, the Supreme Court removed words from the earlier opinion that had been interpreted as limiting the parole board's options.
Lawyer Paul Reingold says Makowski should be sent home like any other inmate whose sentence has been commuted by a governor.
Makowski was convicted of first-degree murder for arranging a robbery that turned into a fatal stabbing in 1988. He wasn't present.
Published: Mon, Sep 22, 2014
