Ricahrd Wershe Jr. in court Sept. 4, 2015.
The Michigan Parole Board has given the green light for RIchard Wershe Jr., also known as "White Boy Rick," for a public hearing.
The parole board voted Friday to grant a hearing to address a possible release after 29 years in prison, reports Kevin Dietz of WDIV. Wershe, convicted of cocaine trafficking, has been behind bars since he was a teenager. He's 47.
A date has not been set.
Wershe needed six votes from the 10-member parole board to receive a public parole hearing. Six reportedly voted for the hearing.
He was last granted a hearing in 2003, but was denied parole.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy recently dropped her opposition to Wershe being released.
A movie on Wershe's life, starring Matthew McConaughey, is in the works. A documentary on his situation, "White Boy," recently premiered at the Freep Film Festival.
Many current and former federal and local law enforcement people have agreed that he should be released and that it is an injustice that he has remained behind bars for so long.
Herman Groman, a retired FBI agent who knew Wershe as a teenager and has advocated for his release, tells Deadline Detroit:
"It's a bout time and it's long overdue. It's my intention to come back to Detroit and testify on his behalf."
-- Allan Lengel