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Richard Wershe Jr. (File photo 2015)
After about 30 years behind bars, Richard Wershe Jr. is as close as he's ever gotten to truly getting a shot at parole.
He's anxious.
"The waiting is the most stressful part," Wershe tells WDIV's Kevin Dietz in a phone interview on Thursday. "You replay things in your head over and over, and of course, in here, you have so much time on your hands. So when you're sitting in your cell, you just dwell on things, and to be honest, it's hard to get any sleep."
The 10-member parole meets Friday at 9 a.m. to decide whether to grant parole. A decision could come by noon, according to the Department of Corrections. At least six of the 10 board members must vote in his favor for him to be set free. If he's rejected, it will be another five years before he gets a shot at parole.
"Your life is in 10 people's hands, and you hope six of them have the compassion to realize that the mistakes I made were as a kid, and as a younger man with the stupid thing in Florida, and that I'm not a danger to anyone," Wershe tells WDIV.
Wershe, 47, who became known in the media as "White Boy Rick," was arrested at age 17 and before long was sentenced to life in prison without parole for cocaine trafficking. The law later changed and he was resentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
The "stupid thing in Florida" he refers to is what happened in mid-2000s when he was in a federal prison in the Sunshine State in the witness protection program because he helped the FBI in a drug string in Metro Detroit.
While he was behind bars in Florida, he got involved in helping his sister in Michigan buy stolen cars. He pleaded guilty in Florida and was sentenced to five years. Wershe's lawyer hopes to convince Florida to give credit for time served and let Wershe go free.
If not, if he gets paroled in Michigan, Florida would pick him up and make him serve about 22 months, his lawyer says.
If all goes his way, he would be set free from the Michigan Department of Corrections in 30 to 90 days.
Wershe turns 48 next Tuesday. Good news on Friday would be an early birthday present, one he'd never forget.
