NJ Supreme Court Affirms Lower Court in Advancing Killer's Parole Eligibility

Ralph Siegel, Associated Press Writer
Originally published by The Associated Press, June 14, 2001

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A divided state Supreme Court on Wednesday let stand a lower court ruling that allows a teen-ager convicted of murdering an 11-year-old boy to become eligible for parole in 26 years.

The ruling means Sam Manzie, now 19, will get a chance at parole in 2027 at age 45. Manzie was 15 in 1997 when he abducted and killed Eddie Werner as the boy went door to door raising funds for the PTA.

Attorney General John Farmer will ask the high court to reconsider the case in hopes of breaking its 3-3 deadlock, spokesman Chuck Davis said.

A seventh justice, Peter Verniero, did not participate in the case, presumably because he was attorney general at the time of the Manzie prosecution. State law allows other judges to temporarily fill Supreme Court seats in deadlocked cases.

Manzie was sentenced to 70 years in prison and the trial judge used a new law, the No Early Release Act, to specify that Manzie must serve 59 years before having his first chance at a parole hearing.

A state appeals court concluded in November that the law was not intended to apply to murder cases. That decision was automatically affirmed when the Supreme Court split its votes.

The No Early Release Act required that violent offenders serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.

But early release had never been a problem with murder convicts, who are typically sentenced to life with a stipulation they serve at least 30 years, and an appeals court concluded that legislators had not intended to include murder.

The lawmakers who sponsored the 1997 law have proposed amendments to make it clear the 85 percent sentencing rule applies to murder cases.