Prosecutor objects to Muncie killer's bid for clemency

MUNCIE, Ind. — Thirty-five years after he was convicted of murder, a Muncie man is seeking an early release from prison.

Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman is not supportive of those efforts, however.

A Delaware Superior Court 1 jury in 1989 found Rosalio "Buddy" Hernandez, now 57, guilty in the November 1988 shooting death of Roy Washington Jr., 23, outside a pool hall in the 1600 block of East Highland Avenue.

Hernandez was later sentenced to 60 years in prison by Judge Robert Barnet Jr.

"In my judgment, this was not just a murder," Barnet said. "It was an assassination."

More: Court upholds Muncie man's convictions for murder, criminal recklessness

At the sentencing hearing, Hernandez acknowledged Washington had died "a terrible death, but I didn't do it."

However, in a recent petition seeking clemency from Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Hernandez said he had experienced a religious awakening while incarcerated, and was now admitting he killed Washington.

The 1988 Muncie homicide is not the only conviction that has Hernandez behind bars.

In 1990, he pleaded guilty to a battery charge stemming from a June 1987 stabbing at the Joker's Wild, a nightclub then on Muncie's south side.

While incarcerated at the Indiana State Prison in the 1990s, Hernandez in separate incidents stabbed a fellow inmate and a corrections officer, leading to convictions for battery and attempted murder.

"Looking back at my cases, I now fully realize that I always had the power to extract myself from the problem and just walk away," Hernandez wrote in his petition for clemency. "Unfortunately, I didn't do the right thing, and many people suffered because of my selfish choices."

In a response to the clemency request, Hoffman said there were "absolutely no injustices to correct in Rosalio Hernandez's convictions and sentences."

"Perhaps the only injustice is that Hernandez is not serving an actual life-without-the possibility-of-parole sentence," Hoffman wrote.

The Delaware County prosecutor also called into question Hernandez's claim he had not previously pursued clemency, post-conviction relief or parole, noting several such efforts.

"Despite allegedly having found the Lord and being a 'changed man,' the defendant has apparently forgotten the mandate of 'Thou shall not lie,'" Hoffman wrote.

The prosecutor said he had "no doubt that if released, Rosalio Hernandez would pose a clear and present danger to the people of the state of Indiana."

The Indiana Parole Board could conduct hearings on Hernandez's request for clemency.

The board would then make a recommendation to Holcomb. If the governor decided to grant clemency, his options could include commuting Hernandez's sentence or releasing him to work release.

Hernandez — now incarcerated at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility south of Terre Haute — has a projected release date in July 2056, when he would be 90 years old, according to a state Department of Correction website.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie killer's bid for clemency draws objection from Hoffman