Officer's Widow Speaks Out About Killer's Parole

INDIANAPOLIS -- On the same day the man convicted of killing an Indianapolis police officer was scheduled to walk out of prison, the victim's widow speaks out about the justice system that almost set him free.

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Widow To Give Up Fight Parole Board Could Uphold Decision

Normon Woodford (1970s file image at left) was 21 when he pleaded guilty to murder in connection with the shooting death of Patrolman Ronald Manley in 1974.

Woodford pleaded guilty in order to avoid a trial and the possibility of the death penalty, RTV6's Jack Rinehart reported. He accepted a life sentence with no chance for parole.

The Indiana Parole Board voted unanimously last month to release Woodford from prison, but Judge Steven Nation ruled Monday that the board did not consider all the facts of the case when it made its decision.

Manley's widow, Stephanie Manley (pictured, right), last week filed a lawsuit against the Parole Board, calling its decision "arbitrary and capricious."

Tuesday, she spoke about the series of events that almost led to Woodford's release.

"When the plea agreement was presented to us, we thought we were showing mercy to him and his family at that time. But it was supposed to be life," Manley said.

Testimony at February's parole board hearing was that Woodford participated in the robbery of the drug store, supplied the murder weapon to an accomplice, but did not shoot Manley (pictured, below).

In issuing the order blocking Woodford's release, Nation said the board didn't hear eyewitness testimony that Woodford himself had pulled the trigger.

"The Parole Board all these years has been telling us that this man was not the triggerman. They didn't think he did it. Now I know otherwise. He did kill my husband," Manley said.

Officials with the Indiana Department of Corrections describe Woodford as a model prisoner who obtained a college degree behind bars.

At a news conference, Manley said she would no longer fight to keep Woodford in prison, but she would she help him get out either, citing the pain and grief caused by repeated Parole Board hearings, Rinehart said.

"If we had gone to trial way back then, he wouldn't be alive today, and I think he ought to be grateful for the chance that he still has a life. He can still visit with his family," Manley said.

Manley's lawyer, John Kautzman, said the lawsuit was not an attempt to retry the case.

"The man pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and we thought he was going to be serving a life punishment as a result of that," Kautzman said.

Woodford's family went to Michigan City Tuesday to visit him in prison and was not available for comment, Rinehart reported.

The Indiana Parole Board can hold another hearing to hear all the evidence before making another decision on Woodford's release, but a decision has not yet been made, Rinehart reported.

Woodford has said he would live with his sister in Arkansas if set free.