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Richard Wershe Jr. the teenager and the adult
This was first published June 2.
After 29 years behind bars, convicted Detroit drug trafficker Richard Wershe Jr. will plead his case for freedom again on Thursday before the Michigan Parole Board at a hearing at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson.
Two of 10 parole board members will attend the hearing, along with a state assistant Attorney General.
Wershe's attorney Ralph Musilli said he will deliver an opening statement that is "sweet and short." Wershe, who has been serving a life sentence since he was a teenager, will then field questions from the assistant Attorney General and parole board members.
Musilli said he hopes all goes well and there's no need to call rebuttal witnesses for Wershe, aka "White Boy Rick."
If necessary, he said, he may call witnesses including former Detroit FBI agents Herman Groman and Gregg Schwarz, who knew Wershe when he was a teenager and have since been advocates for his release. Former Detroit investigative reporter Vince Wade, who is working on a book on Wershe, is also prepared to testify. All three arrived Wednesday from out of town for the hearing.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy had long opposed Wershe's release. But she recently changed her mind. Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for Worthy, said Friday that the office does not intend to send a representative to testify at the hearing.
There will also be an opportunity for public comment from anyone who wishes to speak. Those who can't make it to the hearing can submit a letter to the parole board.
Musilli said the whole proceeding could be completed in the morning.
After the hearing, the complete parole board will review the proceedings and vote. That could take a few weeks or more. Wershe must get a majority vote to get paroled.
The soonest Wershe could be released from the state is 29 days after a decision.
But there's a catch.
Wershe has a conviction in Florida for being part of a car theft ring while he was behind bars there.
Musilli is hoping to get the Florida authorities to drop the case. If not, he says, Wershe will serve 22 months there before becoming a free man.
He says Wershe has said he can serve that time knowing "there's going to be an end."