Court reverses parole denial in ’73 NJ state trooper murder
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A New Jersey appeals court has ordered the state parole board to release a man convicted in the shooting death of a state trooper more than four decades ago.
Sundiata Acoli was known as Clark Edward Squire when he was convicted of the 1973 murder of state trooper Werner Foerster during a stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. He has been in jail since then and was denied parole most recently in 2011.
One of the passengers in the car was Joanne Chesimard, who eventually escaped to Cuba and is the subject of a $2 million reward for her capture.
In a ruling published Monday, the appeals court concluded that the parole board ignored evidence favorable to Acoli and relied on past events such as a probation violation that occurred decades before.
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