Governor commutes man's sentence for 1970 murder

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has commuted the life sentence of a man convicted of first-degree murder for the 1970 slaying of a Muskegon Heights liquor store owner.

The Muskegon Chronicle reports Sunday that 62-year-old Roosevelt Moore is expected to be released from the Muskegon Correctional Facility soon pending final approval by the Michigan Department of Corrections. Granholm commuted the sentence Oct. 29.

Moore was sentenced in 1971 for killing 55-year-old Bernard Kubacki during a robbery. He was found in his west Michigan store after being shot twice in the face.

Corrections department spokesman John Cordell says the commutation was based on Moore serving 38 years, and his "medically fragile" condition means he's unlikely to pose a community threat.