LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Parole has been denied for a central Florida man who fatally shot his 3-year-old stepson more than 40 years ago.
The decision made by a Tallahassee-based commission on Wednesday puts in question the Dec. 17 release date for 65-year-old Riley Burchfield.
The Ledger of Lakeland (http://bit.ly/1z0uZz7 ) reports Burchfield avoided the death penalty in May 1974 by pleading guilty to the first-degree murder of Steven Lamar Moore in Fort Meade. He was sentenced to life in prison with the opportunity for parole after 25 years. Since 1999, the case has come up for possible parole every few years.
The state ended the parole system in the 1980s, but inmates are still eligible from their original sentences.
The child was shot in the chest while he slept on Dec. 17, 1973.
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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), http://www.theledger.com
