Governor Wallace shooter released after 35 years

THE man who shot and paralysed Alabama Governor George Wallace during a 1972 presidential campaign stop in Maryland was released from prison yesterday after serving 35 years of his sentence.

Arthur H Bremer, 57, left the prison before sunrise, said Mark A. Vernarelli, a prison system spokesman.

Prison officials declined to comment on Bremer’s destination or plans.

“The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services believes the public’s interest, safety and security is best served by allowing Arthur Bremer to become acclimated to today’s world at his own pace and with as much anonymity as possible,” an agency statement read.

Wallace, a fiery segregationist during the 1960s, was wounded on May 15, 1972, during a campaign stop in Laurel, Maryland. He abandoned his bid for the Democratic nomination and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

Bremer, a former Milwaukee busboy and janitor, was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 53 years. He had been held at the medium-security Maryland Correctional Institution near Hagerstown, about 70 miles from Baltimore, since 1979.

He earned his mandatory release through good behaviour and by working in prison. Bremer will remain under the supervision of the Division of Parole and Probation until his sentence ends in 2025.

Bremer’s diary, parts of which were found in a landfill in 1980, made it clear he was motivated to attempt to kill Wallace by a desire for attention, not a political agenda. He had also stalked President Nixon.

David R. Blumberg, the state Parole Commission chairman, said yesterday that Bremer was no longer interested in fame.

“He’s kept a decidedly low profile. He’s turned down all requests for notoriety and interviews, including some that had money attached to them,” he said.