DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Detroit-area man has been released from prison, more than eight years after then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm agreed he should be freed, but then changed her mind before leaving office.
Matthew Makowski was released Wednesday after spending 29 years in prison.
Granholm shortened Makowski's life sentence in 2010 in one of her final acts as governor, making him eligible for parole. But she reversed her decision within 48 hours after the victim's family complained they were never informed about the process.
Makowski took his case to the Michigan Supreme Court. The court in 2014 unanimously said Granholm's reversal was illegal, saying her decision was final once she signed the document and filed it with the secretary of state.
The parole board last year approved Makowski's release. But it was delayed again by an unsuccessful legal challenge from the victim's family.
Makowski was convicted of first-degree murder for arranging the robbery of a Dearborn health club co-worker in 1988. He insists he didn't know the robbers would be armed and wasn’t present when Pietro "Pete" Puma was fatally stabbed.