SEATTLE — Gov. Chris Gregoire has commuted the life prison term of a man convicted of murder in Seattle in 1987.
Based on recanted testimony by a co-defendant and good conduct behind bars, 40-year-old Gerald Hankerson was released last week after 22 years in prison.
He was convicted of aggravated murder in the beating and stabbing of 27-year-old Nai Vang Saeturn. A co-defendant, Alvin Mitchell, told police he grabbed Saeturn as Hankerson beat him.
Later, however, Mitchell admitted he lied about Hankerson’s involvement in the attack. Mitchell is now dead after hanging himself in prison.
In 2007 Hankerson told former Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Tracy Johnson that he did grab Saeturn briefly, but he denied helping Mitchell chase down and kill the other victim.
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