Bruce Lisker walks out of prison, but not yet entirely free [Updated]

[Updated at 8:10 a.m. with additional quotes from Bruce Lisker.]

Twenty-six years, five months, and three days after his mother was killed and he was arrested for her murder, Bruce Lisker walked out of Mule Creek State Prison today, not quite a free man, but one no longer confined to a cell.

“It's just amazing. Absolutely surreal," said Lisker at an impromptu news conference at a nearby park. “It’s the culmination of a lifelong dream."

Lisker smiled as he stood beneath a tree, looking at the branches. “We don’t have any trees on the prison grounds.”

Several friends and supporters greeted Lisker, 44, after he was released from the prison in Ione, southeast of Sacramento. One friend had gone to a department store to buy clothes that Lisker could change into before leaving the prison.

Paul Ingels, Lisker’s private investigator who has worked on the case for more than a decade, called his client’s release “one of the best days of my life.”

Lisker was released on bail at 7 a.m., a week after a federal judge overturned his murder conviction, ruling that he was prosecuted with “false evidence” and his defense attorney did not adequately represent him. The judge's findings mirrored those of a seven-month Times investigation published in 2005, which raised questions about key elements of the prosecution's case against Lisker and exposed the LAPD's investigation into the slaying of his mother as sloppy and incomplete.

Ultimately, Lisker’s freedom will be influenced by what government lawyers decide to do next. They could appeal the judge’s decision to overturn his conviction, retry Lisker for his mother’s killing or drop the case altogether.

After making his brief statement, Lisker declined to discuss his case in detail on advice of his attorneys, who were gearing up for a possible retrial. He jumped into the front seat of Ingels’ truck and headed back to Southern California, where he must live as a condition of his release.

Before embarking on the long trip, Lisker and his friends planned to have breakfast at an International House of Pancakes to satisfy a craving Lisker has had for many years. He said he fondly remembers the smell of maple syrup from the restaurant where he used to go with his parents when he was growing up in the San Fernando Valley.

For Lisker, memories of life outside prison stop at age 17, when he was arrested for killing his mother in the family’s Sherman Oaks home. At the time, he was a skinny, frizzy-haired teenager with a drug habit and a bad attitude. Ronald Reagan was president and gallon of gas cost about $1.25.

Today, Lisker is a middle-aged man with a shaved head who says he intends to make the most of his time out of custody. Though most of his relatives have died, Lisker has maintained a network of friends and supporters over the years through phone calls and letters.

In the short term, Lisker has said in interviews with The Times that he wanted to go for bike rides on the beach and smell the ocean breeze, eat a bowl of French vanilla ice cream and go running in a straight line for as far as he wants to without having to jog in circles like he did in prison. He needs to apply for a driver’s license, get a copy of his Social Security number and birth certificate so he can find a job — another condition of his bail. While in prison he completed educational programs on being a paralegal and working on computers, which is hopes will help him in today’s job market.

Though he is no longer in prison, Lisker is not a free man. He must be in federal court Monday to go over the terms of his release with U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips, who overturned his conviction. Additionally, the district attorney has filed court papers ordering Lisker to appear in state court Aug. 21, even though a spokeswoman has declined to say whether the office intends to retry Lisker.

Lisker has said he would welcome an opportunity to clear his name once and for all. On March 10, 1983, there was good reason to suspect that he might have committed the crime. He had a history of drug abuse and fighting with his mother. His parents had paid for him to live in a studio apartment several miles from the family's home.

And, he was the first to report to authorities that his mother had been beaten and stabbed. He told police that he went to his parents' home to borrow a jack so he could fix his car. While there, he said, he looked through windows at the back of the house and saw his mother lying on the floor. Because the doors were locked, Lisker said, he broke in to tend to her.

She was still alive but had been badly beaten and stabbed in the back. He called for paramedics. The detective in the case didn't believe him and arrested him that day. The prosecution's case at the time hinged largely on four elements: Blood spatter on Lisker's clothes implicated him; police believed it impossible for him to have seen his mother lying on the floor from outside the house; he confessed to a jailhouse informant; and police said bloody shoe prints placed only him at the scene.

At an evidentiary hearing in federal court, each of those elements was seriously undermined or disproved. For example, an LAPD analyst and an FBI expert testified that a bloody footprint found in the bathroom of the Lisker house and attributed to Lisker at trial was, in fact, not made by Lisker's shoes. Additionally, that print appeared to match an apparent shoe impression on the victim's head, according to the LAPD analyst.

The attorney general arguing in support of the conviction pointed to confessions that Lisker made while trying to secure a plea deal and while seeking parole. Judge Phillips, in adopting the findings of U.S. Magistrate Ralph Zarefsky, who held the evidentiary hearing, dismissed those confessions, calling them "self-serving when they were made and unaccompanied by verifying details."

Lisker has long said his admissions were bogus and desperate attempts to get out of prison. Phillips and Zarefsky also found that the LAPD detective on the case had inexplicably dismissed another "likely suspect," who lied about his whereabouts at the time of the slaying, admitted being in a knife fight on the day of the crime and acknowledged going to the victim's house and talking to her the day before the slaying.

That suspect, Michael Ryan, who had a long history of violence, later killed himself. Phone records from the Lisker home show that a call was made minutes before the murder -- the number matched that of Ryan's mother, except for the last digit and the area code, which wasn't dialed. "There is a strong suggestion that someone else was responsible for the crime," the judges concluded.

-- Matt Lait in Ione

Photos, from top: Bruce Lisker is embraced by friend and supporter Jenny Giallanza after his release from Mule Creek State Prison today; Lisker leaves prison in his rearview mirror, headed for IHOP; Lisker, right, thanks private investigator Paul Ingels for his help in winning Lisker's freedom at a news conference at a park in Ione. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Coleen Bondy]

Nice piece of reporting all the way. This story gives me faith in solid investigative journalism again. Afflict the comfortable, comfort the afflicted.

I hope Bruce Lisker can live the rest of his life without resentments or regrets (warranted, but a total waste of valuable time), and enjoy each minute to the fullest. The LAPD stole a big chunk of his life, but the LA Times gave it back. Bravo!

[Richard Ivey]

Did Bruce Lisker ever take a lie detector exam?

[Duane]

Is the LAPD Detective the same one who investigated the murder of the woman for which the female LAPD Officer was recently arrested. Probably not, but they can sure ignore suspects who do not fit into their preconceived notions of what happened. It seems they get a suspect, then follow only those clues that lead to that person, instead of following all clues with an open mind, and letting those clues lead them to a suspect.

[LD]

I would love to share this article with some peers, but... your SHARE THIS option does not include an *e-mail to a friend* option. AND, the Share THIS option's close X does not close the lil window.

[ballrmom]

who is going to pay for this man's lost of freedom? is the d.a. going to be held responsible for wrongly prosecuting the case, is the detective going to be held responsible. this is why the death penalty should be ended. hopefully, this gentleman will be able to move on and live his life. what an awful thing to happen to a 17-year-old!

[Janene Cook]

I don't know this man, but I'm curious. When someone is falsely accused and imprisoned for 20+ years, do they get paid the average US salary per year of imprisonment to make up for the mistake? He Should. Can you imagine having your Mother killed and instead of being able to grieve the lose your locked away for a few centuries. I hope this Man enjoys every moment of the rest of his life. -Cherish the small and simple things and greet your Mother at the gates of Heaven.

[Jimbo]

Drop the case. Don't waste anymore taxpayers money. Based on the contents of this article and I'm sure loads of evidence that has not been published but would come out in a re-trial, in my mind, reasonable doubt has been established.

[Chuck Wavy Dean]

I hope that the DA decides not to re-try Bruce Lisker. He has already spend 26 years in prison based on at best questionable evidence. Hopefully he can get on with his life and become a productive member of society.

[Jim]

I read your story. One thing that isn't explained though is how blood spatter got on his Lisker's clothing. That is not something that transfers through contact with the body. I hope you guys are proud of yourselves for getting people to doubt the conviction and freeing a most-likely guilty man.

[TheBigPicture]

This character shouldn't get used to being free...I'm sure the DA's office will file charges and send him to trial...The DA should seek the death penalty this time...That's justice, free today, walking the green mile tomorrow...

[Hank Ramey]

Has anybody read the stories in the Times? No. The problem is that when there's other evidence that another man committed the murder, you don't put an innocent man in prison.

Death penalty on stale "evidence"? (26 years since the murder.) This is laughable. Everyboy should read the Times series onth Lisker case.

[where's the PROOF]

for the two hot heads who have already posted -- what is it with you people who assume guilt? like the police never get it wrong, on purpose? what if this guy IS innocent? people like you make a mockery of the american justice system

[Mike Collins]

You posters who assume the guilt of this guy are what's wrong with the system. The police and the prosecuters quite often get it wrong. Juries made up of you people assume guilt. A federal judge found there was NO credible evidence showing this guy is guilty. I guess she's wrong too?

[Nyte]

Wow... "TheBigPicture" let us hope you will someday walk a mile in Lisker's shoes. You would not survive 3 feet.
Did you even take the time to read and educate yourself on this case? I didn't think so.
He is an innocent man who had 26 years stolen from him. Incompetent investigative work, that crossed the line into criminal behavior, a lazy defense attorney and a jury of small minded sheep, like yourself, sealed Lisker's fate. It is a shame that someone like former Det. Monsue gets to walk free after all is said and done.

Thank you to LAT for bringing this miscarriage of justice to the light of day.

[Shark]

For The Nay Sayers I Hope They Clear This Man.......If you Have Never Been in Trounle on Bogus Charges Then You Don't Know Squat. This Isn't The First Time A Person Has Done Lots of Time For a Crime They Didn't Commit!
The People That Listen To The Media Are Just a Bunch of Sheep and Belive Anything They Hear!
Good Luck Bruce on Your Fight.........You Will Prevail This Time.......SHARK.........!

[girl n hood]

Kudos to Glover and Lait who set the bar of journalism high by enacting social reform in LA. My heros!

[Gary Page]

Apparently some of the posters here never read the original articles which showed the original case was as flimsy as crepe paper. This is hardly the first case of this type I have seen. What is particularly disturbing is that all too often district attorneys will let an innocent person sit in jail rather than admit to a mistake. Let's hope the D.A. in this case "does the right thing."

[Sukhvinder Singh]

Congratulations to LATimes as well as Lisker. May he enjoy his future life with dignity.

[Vincent]

The sad thing is that this is the exception, not the rule. The main reason Lisker won his freedom is because of the heroic actions of the desk sergeant who ended up ruining his, and his wife's, career in the LAPD by breaking "protocol" on a key piece of physical evidence. You'd be right to bet that the ranks are closing around this one. There are many more Bruce Liskers out there, and sadly, many more to come.

[Lloyd]

Wow what an incredible case; that is our law enforcement at its best, crooked, not to mention our joke judicial system. What a joke.

[girl n hood]

Anybody who has ever had access to reports referencing themselves and/or their behavior inaccurately and the impact those reports can have on their destinty, whether it be written by a police officer, social worker, county counselor, etc., can relate to this story.

I am appalled at what passes as fact in court reports and unless you're the LAT, good luck on trying to obtain any internal records that might further falsely defame your character.

This story should be a beacon of hope for all those who look to be freed, clear their name or shine the light on intentional, malicious and self-serving acts of injustice.

To Mr. Lisker's attorney(s) diligence, the police personnel who put their jobs on the line to validate evidence, Lait and Glover for their exemplary journalism, etc., I applaud you.

[chuck McLaughlin]

Lets hear it for the PI! What a great job.

Having been in the business for 20 years we all get cases that take over our lives. It is just amazing when they turn out great.

[kara Noble]

Because of the great work done by these journalists I came to know Bruce as a penpal and later on the phone. A finer man could not be free. This weekend we will party like it's '99 - just one of the years Bruce had stolen from him....

[sailor sam]

Having personal knowledge of this detective, I was not surprised to read of Lisker's problems. The amount of dishonesty, laziness and poor service to the public were what I experienced, and they were in place in this case. Lisker should be given Monsue's pension as compensation for his incarceration. Monsue sure doesn't deserve it...

[Kima]

Welcome home, Bruce! May justice continue to prevail in your life and may you find blessings and love beyond measure. My heart is smiling, knowing that you are finally walking free.