Parole rejected for prisoner who won high court case

ADRIAN (AP) — The Michigan parole board again has declined to release a prison inmate who won a state Supreme Court case over a shorter sentence.

Matthew Makowski was notified last week that his request for parole was turned down.

Makowski has been in prison for 27 years for the death of a co-worker at a Dearborn health club. There’s no dispute he arranged for Pete Puma to be robbed, but he insists he didn’t know Puma’s attacker would have a knife. He wasn’t present.

In 2010, Gov. Jennifer Granholm changed Makowski’s no-parole sentence, making him eligible for release, then changed her mind a few days later after criticism. The Supreme Court unanimously said Granholm’s about-face was illegal.

Nonetheless, the parole board refuses to release Makowski, who is 49.