Concerned Citizens Gather To Protest Woodmansee Release

A rally was held at Old Mountain Field yesterday to protest the early release of Michael Woodmansee from prison. The crowd of approximately 500 marched to Dale Carlia Corner and occupied all four corners encouraging honking horns of support from passing cars, frequently breaking into chants of “no early release.” Woodmansee, a former South Kingstown resident, admitted to killing five-year-old Jason Foreman in 1975 when he was 16 years old. He was caught after trying to strangle local paperboy Dale Sherman, who was 14 years old, in 1982.

Woodmansee was sentenced to a 40-year term after a plea bargain was reached with the agreement of Jason Foreman's family. In accordance with the laws on the books at the time he earned “good behavior” time that allowed him to shave 12 years off his original sentence. The bulk of his prison time was served in Massachusetts but the announcement that he was back in RI in order to transition toward his eventual release in August sent the . Emotions that had been long buried started to run high.

The current RI Attorney General, Peter Kilmartin, is planning a bill to change the good behavior rules currently in place. If the bill succeeds in becoming law, it will not affect the Woodmansee case.