Convicted Waterloo Murderer Paroled

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials have granted parole to a 68-year-old Iowa inmate who has been imprisoned since 1974 for the killing of a man over a gambling debt in Waterloo.

The Iowa Board of Parole on Wednesday approved the release of Rasberry Williams, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man outside a Waterloo pool hall.

Over the decades, Williams had been a model inmate and in 1979 helped end a prison standoff in which two guards were taken hostage. Gov. Terry Branstad commuted his sentence last year, making him eligible for parole.

The Des Moines Register reports (http://dmreg.co/1j0MfbT ) parole board chairman Jason Carlstrom maintained Williams wouldn't be a threat if released.

Corrections Department spokesman Fred Scaletta says inmates typically are released two to four weeks after the board's decisions.

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