Mass. man spent 32 years in prison claiming innocence. His first chance at parole was denied
But Michael Payne, 52, continues to claim his innocence. And earlier this year, for the first time, he saw a possible path to freedom through a new state law allowing him to seek parole.
On June 21, 1995, Payne was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and unlawfully carrying a firearm in Suffolk Superior Court. He was sentenced to two concurrent life terms without the possibility of parole for his murder convictions.
He became eligible for parole after a recent Supreme Judicial Court decision that states emerging adults between the ages of 18-20 cannot be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Due to the decision, Payne, who was 20 at the time of the murders, was able to go in front of the parole board for the first time in February.
The board, however, denied him getting parole yesterday stating there were 'concerns' following his statements at the hearing.
At about 4 a.m. on March 28, 1993, eyewitnesses said that Kevin Christopher and Lloyd Industrious were killed when Payne and his co-defendants fired several rounds into a vehicle that the two men had been sitting in in Dorchester. One of the people took jewelry from at least one of the men who had been shot, and ran from the scene.
Christopher had 11 gunshot wounds and Industrious had 7 gunshot wounds.
An eyewitness selected Payne's photo out of 14 other photographs. However, Payne stated that he attended the nearby party but he was not involved in the murders. He claimed that he learned about the murders for the first time on the news.
During his February parole board hearing, Payne told the parole board that the programming offered through the state would not be beneficial for him 'and self-improvement is not a need area,' the parole board wrote in its decision.
Payne's sister and a friend spoke in support of parole during the hearing, while Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Montez Haywood testified against parole.
His parole request was denied but the board was torn on how long until his next hearing.
One board member voted to grant parole after 6 months in another program, while another board member voted to deny parole with a review in one year from the date of the hearing.
Ultimately, it was decided that there will be another review in 2 years.
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Read the original article on MassLive.
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