DETROIT (WWJ) — A 77-year-old Detroit man who spent nearly 60 years in prison for murder has been deemed eligible for parole, thanks to a Michigan court ruling.
Ivory Thomas has been in prison since October 1965 after being convicted of first-degree felony murder for the robbery and stabbing of 18-year-old Michael Railsback in Detroit’s Dueweke Park.
Thomas, 18 at the time of conviction, is now eligible to be released following the 2022 Michigan Supreme Court decision in People v. Poole.
The Poole case held that mandatory life without parole sentences imposed on 18-year-old defendants violates the Michigan constitutional prohibition against cruel or unusual punishment, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
This January the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled the decision could be applied retroactively to more than 250 current prisoners, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Michigan Department of Corrections records show that Thomas — the oldest Poole case to be taken up by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office — has undergone “positive transformation while in prison,” the prosecutor’s office said.
“He has accepted responsibility for his actions and serves as a mentor to other inmates,” a press release from the prosecutor’s office said.
Thomas has been experiencing “serious health challenges that have a daily impact” while in prison and the victim’s family “supports the defendant’s release, and he has a large amount of community support,” the press release said.
The prosecutor’s office says it “recognizes the precedential effect of the ruling and did not object to the application of its holding in Defendant Ivory Thomas’s case”
“Mr. Ivory is 77 years old and has served 60 years in prison for taking the life of Michael Railsback since he was 18 years old. He is very ill and has accepted full responsibility for his actions,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. “We have examined this case and believe in these facts, as well as Mr. Ivory’s transformation in prison, that the family of Mr. Railsback and I can fully support Mr. Ivory’s release.”
Thomas was re-sentenced to 40-60 years, meaning his maximum sentence has been served. He was expected to be released from the Thumb Correctional Facility, in Lapeer, on Tuesday.