A man convicted in the 1985 plot to kill a Los Angeles police detective will be released on parole within the week, over the objections of Gov. Jerry Brown and city police leaders, according to California state corrections officials, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Voltaire Williams, 54, has spent 27 years in state prison after being convicted of joining the scheme to kill LAPD Det. Thomas C. Williams.
Voltaire Williams has no relationship to the slain detective, who was fatally shot while picking up his 6-year-old son from a Canoga Park school. The child was not harmed, but the detective died almost instantly from the spray of gunfire.
A jury convicted Williams of conspiracy to commit murder, and in 1989, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The union that represents rank-and-file LAPD officers said Wednesday that it was appalled by the decision, saying that Williams should remain behind bars for life.
"Detective Williams was assassinated because he did his job. The Parole Board's decision is an affront to every peace officer who risks their lives to protect others on a daily basis," the Los Angeles Police Protective League said in a statement. "He does not deserve freedom."
