MSNBC - Lie may land killer back in
jail
He won freedom by inventing a tale of war-fueled drug habit
ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON
They say the truth will set you free. But it may send Joseph Yandle
back to prison. In 1995 Yandle pleaded to be released from prison after serving 23 years
for his role in a deadly liquor store robbery. He told the nation on “60
Minutes” that his crime was fueled by a heroin addiction he used to numb the
nightmares brought on by his military service in Vietnam.
I created a history of being in Vietnam as a way of getting people
to leave me alone.
JOSEPH YANDLE
HIS STORY struck a chord, and his sentence was commuted, setting
him free.
But Yandle recently admitted that although he is a veteran, he
served in Okinawa, Japan, and never in Vietnam. Now the state's parole board is moving to
revoke his parole, and acting Gov. Paul Cellucci is
considering whether to push to have Yandle's sentence reinstated.
"I was afraid, and facing life in prison ...," Yandle
said a statement to "60 Minutes," which plans an update Sunday. "I created
a history of being in Vietnam as a way of getting people to leave me alone."
Cellucci said he remembers the support Yandle got from veterans'
groups which he said "weighed pretty heavily on the decision to issue a
commutation."
"If in fact those statements stand, Mr. Yandle's claims to
self-improvement are certainly undermined," Cellucci said. "The entire pardon
process is undermined, and I would say it's an insult to people
who did serve in Vietnam."
1972 LIQUOR STORE KILLING
Yandle was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of
Joseph Reppucci, the manager of the Mystic Bottled Liquors store in Medford, during a
robbery on June 20, 1972. Yandle drove the getaway car after his partner, Edward Fielding,
robbed the store and shot Reppucci.
In his effort to get his life sentence commuted, Yandle declared
himself a changed man. He pointed out that he had earned bachelor's and master's degrees
in prison, and headed the prison's Toys for Tots program.
But there was nothing new about his claim of having served in
Vietnam.
Jerry Meldon, a professor at Tufts University, was one of the
people who spoke out for Yandle's freedom. Meldon first met Yandle in 1971, when Meldon
was a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researching veterans
who had returned to the United States with drug addictions.
"He was referred to me by a group that was affiliated with
Vietnam Veterans against the war," Meldon said. "He told me stories about
Vietnam. Needless to say, I'm somewhat disappointed by this."
Even so, Meldon still believes Yandle deserves to be free.
STAYING SOBER
Meldon said Yandle, who lives in Rutland, Vt., has stayed sober, is
training to be a counselor for alcohol and drug abusers, and is trying to be a good
father. He married and fathered two sons while serving his time and taking weekend
furloughs.
Yandle's request for a commutation was first approved in 1991. It
sat on former Gov. William Weld's desk for four years. When Weld backed Yandle's release,
he said Yandle "went to serve his country in Vietnam. He returned a scarred man and
he has served a lengthy prison sentence."
Weld could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Yandle admitted his lie to CBS after B.G. "Jug" Burkett,
who has researched phony Vietnam heroes, crushed the story.
In Yandle's statement to "60 Minutes," he apologized to
the parole board and told Weld, "I am truly sorry for the embarrassment this will
cause you."
|