A man imprisoned since 1976 in the shooting death of a Chicago police officer could be freed this year after an appellate court panel set aside his 200-year sentence as excessive and ruled that his chances for parole were unfairly denied.
This decision comes after decades of failed appeals by Ronnie Carrasquillo, 65, who was 18 in 1976 when he fired into a gang-related melee and killed Officer Terrence Loftus, who was in plainclothes, trying to break up the fight.
