ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) - A Detroit-area man convicted of murder will soon be released from prison, more than four years after winning an unusual case at the Michigan Supreme Court.
The Corrections Department says Matthew Makowski has been granted parole and is scheduled to leave prison on Oct. 2. Spokesman Chris Gautz says the release had been planned for Thursday but was changed.
Makowski has been in prison for nearly 30 years for the death of a co-worker at a Dearborn health club. There’s no dispute that he arranged for Pete Puma to be robbed, but he insists he didn’t know Puma’s attacker would have a knife. Makowski wasn’t present.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm reduced his no-parole sentence before leaving office in 2010 but then changed her mind. The Supreme Court in 2014 said Granholm’s switch was illegal.
Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Republican candidate for governor, wants the parole board to keep Makowski locked up.
Gautz says the parole board believes Makowski “will not become a menace to society or to the public safety.”
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