A man convicted of killing a Gary (Indiana) police officer in 1981 has been released after spending 35 years in prison.
Zolo Azania walked out of the Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana Monday morning.
[sc name=”Article Mobile Ad” ]
The family of the victim, Gary Police Lieutenant George Yaros, received a text message notifying them of the release. They said they are having a tough time and are just trying to cope.
In 1981, Azania was convicted of shooting and killing 57-year-old George Yaros during a robbery at the Gary National Bank.
Prosecutors said as Azania was trying to escape guns blazing, he walked over to Yaros, who had already been shot, and then fired another shot into his chest.
He was sentenced to death twice for the crime, but the Indiana Supreme Court overturned both of those sentences.
Just before a third death penalty trial was about to begin in 2007, the Yaros family agreed to let the Lake County prosecutor drop the capital punishment request in return for Azania accepting a 74-year sentence.
They hoped it would mean he’d be in prison for life, but the sentence was shortened because Azania earned credit for good behavior.
Azania admits to another killing in 1972. As a teenager, Azania pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and spent about eight years behind bars before persuading a judge to throw out that conviction on a technicality in 1982.