The Nation - News from March 5, 1989

The New York state Board of Parole said Bernhard H. Goetz must serve the full one-year prison sentence he got for illegally carrying the gun he used to shoot four teen-agers on a New York City subway in 1984. Releasing Goetz after just two months in jail “would deprecate the seriousness of the crime and undermine respect for the law,” the board said in Albany. Monday was the earliest Goetz could have been released. Edward Elwin, the board’s executive director, said the decision meant Goetz would have to serve his full one-year sentence, minus any time off for good behavior, unless he can persuade a court to overturn the board’s ruling. Goetz, 41, was convicted on the gun charge but acquitted of attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment charges. He began serving his sentence Jan. 13 .