Skinhead acquitted of murder

PHILADELPHIA, June 4 (UPI) -- A Delaware man has been acquitted of murder in a nearly 2-decade-old murder even while being found guilty of conspiracy and firearms violations.

Thomas Gibison, 37, of Newark was found innocent of murder and ethnic intimidation charges in the April 16, 1989, death of Aaron Wood, 33, of North Philadelphia. But Gibison, a skinhead who the prosecution contended killed Wood to prove his allegiance to white-supremacist dogma, was found guilty of the other charges, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday.

The case, which left both sides displeased, was revived after a former girlfriend of Gibison contacted authorities alleging that he had boasted of killing a black man years before. The defendant's attorney argued the shooting of Wood had been related to a drug debt and a framing by officials who perceived skinheads as a domestic terror threat.

Sentencing by Judge M. Teresa Sarmina has been set for July 25 with Gibison facing up to 27 years in prison on the two convictions.