Louisiana man convicted of 1979 double murder released

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana man sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the 1979 killing of his roommate and another friend is being released after 42 years in custody.

The Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole voted 2-1 on Monday to release David Chenevert, who had agreed to the life sentence when he pleaded guilty in 1981 to stabbing Michael Brown and Evelyn McIntyre. The decision came after a nearly 90-minute hearing, during which the victims' relatives testified. Almost all of them spoke against releasing him.

Chenevert, 64, said he and his wife, whom he married while incarcerated in 2001, plan to settle far away from his hometown of Baton Rouge.

The son of a Baton Rouge police lieutenant, Chenevert cried as board member Sheryl Ranatza cast the deciding vote, with Pearl Wise voting in favor of his release and Bonnie Jackson opposing it, The Advocate reported.

Chenevert agreed to restrictions that include his leaving Louisiana and not returning without permission from a parole officer.

“You’ve done harm, you’ve healed yourself, and now you’re healing others,” Wise told Chenevert, who appeared at the meeting via a video conferencing web feed from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Chenevert was 21 when he stabbed Brown, 26, and McIntyre, 18. Investigators said he was angry over missing drug money. He surrendered days later.

He avoided the death penalty in a plea deal, pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in exchange for life without the possibility of parole.

The state Board of Pardons and Parole voted 4-1 to commute his sentence after a December hearing, citing his good conduct, participation in several rehabilitation programs, a low risk-assessment score and “demonstrated growth through service to...