Bail granted for LA man convicted of killing mom
LOS ANGELES — A man who has spent 26 years behind bars for his mother’s death was granted bail Tuesday, a week after his murder conviction was overturned by a judge due to false evidence.
Bruce Lisker, 44, was ordered released and bail was set at $200,000. Lisker’s attorney anticipates he will be freed within two days after the state processes him.
“He’s elated and ecstatic,” attorney Vicki Podberesky told The Associated Press.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ordered Lisker back to her courtroom on Monday to review the conditions of his release. It wasn’t clear whether prosecutors planned to refile the murder charge. Messages left with the California attorney general’s office and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office were not immediately returned.
Podberesky said Lisker has trained in prison to become a paralegal and may seek a job in that field after he is freed from the Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, where he has been serving a life sentence.
Lisker was arrested for the March 10, 1983, beating and stabbing death of his mother, Dorka, at her home in Sherman Oaks in the San Fernando Valley.
Lisker, then 17, lived nearby and had a history of drug use and fighting with his mother. He told investigators he returned home, looked through a window and saw his 66-year-old mother lying on the floor. He said he broke into the locked home to help her.
A detective didn’t believe him and he was arrested and charged with her murder. Prosecutors said Lisker couldn’t have seen his mother on the floor from outside the house. They also said he left a bloody shoe print and confessed to a jailhouse informant.
Lisker was convicted by a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury in 1985 and sentenced to 16 years to life in prison. The state Supreme Court rejected an appeal in 2003.
In 2005, the Los Angeles Times published an investigation that questioned Lisker’s guilt and concluded the original investigation was sloppy. The investigation cited a new analysis that concluded the bloody shoe print found at the scene didn’t belong to Lisker.
In March, a U.S. federal magistrate said faulty evidence was used to convict Lisker and that he had received an inadequate defense. The magistrate’s report says the defense attorney failed to introduce trial evidence that cast suspicion on an alternative suspect, a friend of Lisker’s who had a false alibi and a history of violence. That man, Mike Ryan, has since committed suicide.
Last week, Phillips overturned Lisker’s conviction, citing the conclusions of the magistrate’s report.
Filed under Court, Legal Proceedings, News | Tags: California, Los Angeles, North America, United States, Violent Crime | Comment Below
Related?
Calif. won't appeal overturned conviction of man who spent 26 years in prison in death of momAugust 21st, 2009 Calif. won't contest overturned murder convictionLOS ANGELES — The California attorney general's office says it won't appeal a judge's decision to throw out the conviction of a man who spent 26 years in prison after his mother was murdered. State lawyers disclosed the decision in court papers filed in the case of Bruce Lisker.
High court suspends conviction of former bureaucratJuly 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Delhi High Court Thursday suspended a lower court's conviction of former bureaucrat Runu Ghosh on corruption charges and granted her bail. Ghosh was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for amassing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs.20.94 lakh during the tenure of former union minister Sukh Ram.
87-year-old rape convict gets bail from Supreme CourtMay 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Considering his age, the Supreme Court Friday granted bail to an 87-year-old farmer from Punjab who has challenged his conviction and three-year jail sentence for raping a teenaged girl nearly 20 years ago. A vacation bench of Justice Markandey Katju and Justice Deepak Verma granted bail to Madho Singh, a farmer from Rajpura in Punjab, after Singh was taken into custody March 19 this year when the Punjab and Haryana High Court endorsed his conviction for raping the 16-year-old girl in September 1990.
Shivani Bhatnagar murder accused R.K. Sharma granted interim bailAugust 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Monday granted interim bail to former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer R.K. Sharma, serving life term in the murder of journalist Shivani Bhatnagar, to enable him to visit his elder daughter and newly-born grandson.
Patna HC grants bail to ShahabuddinAugust 3rd, 2009 PATNA - The Patna High Court on Monday granted bail to controversial RJD leader Mohammed Shahabuddin in a murder case. A bench of Justice K K Mandal accepted Shahabuddin's bail after his counsel YV Giri contended that he is not the named accused in the murder case, and he has only been charged with hatching conspiracy by the complainant in the case.
Rapper Corey 'C-Murder' Miller receives mandatory life sentence for 2002 shooting deathAugust 14th, 2009 Rapper C-Murder sentenced to life in prisonGRETNA, La. — Rapper Corey "C-Murder" Miller has been sentenced to life in prison for his second-degree murder conviction.
Ansal brothers get bail in Uphaar caseJanuary 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Friday granted bail to real estate tycoons Gopal and Sushil Ansal who were undergoing a year-long jail term following their conviction for lapses that led to the June 1997 Uphaar theatre fire tragedy. A bench of Justice S.B.
Apex court questions bail for murder suspectsMay 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Wednesday sought the Uttar Pradesh government's response to the grant of bail to the alleged killers a top official of the Indian arm of Italian business firm Graziano Transmissioni. A vacation bench of Justice Markandey Katju and Justice Deepak Verma issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on a lawsuit by the Greater Noida-headquartered firm, challenging the grant of bail to the six accused persons involved in killing the CEO, Lalit Kishore Chaudhary.
