MADISON, Wis., Jan. 30 -- A jury has decided the man whose crime spurred adoption of Wisconsin's sexual predator law is not a predator afterall. Gerald Turner, the so-called 'Halloween killer,' was convicted of the rape and murder of 9-year-old Lisa French of Fond du Lac.
The crime occurred Oct. 31, 1973, while Turner was on parole. Thursday's jury decision means 49-year-old Turner, can be released from the mental health facility where he has been held since his prison term ended. State officials said the release will not come until a parole plan placing Turner under intense supervision can be devised. State Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills, who sponsored the sexual predator law, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 'He was the reason we got started on this law because the corrections system was afraid to release him.' State officials planned to meet today to determine whether any further legal action can be taken. Corrections officials pledged to devise the 'toughest, most restrictive' parole they can. Turner initially was released in 1992 after serving less than half his sentence in the French killing under the state's good-time provisions. One year after his release, Turner was ordered back into custody after an appellate court ruled his good-time had been miscalculated. The sexual predator law was then adopted in 1994 as the result of public outrage over the 1992 release. Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist says he doesn't want Turner returned to his city and designated himself the 'official chairman of the Gerald Turner 'unwelcoming' committee.' ---
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