CRANSTON, R.I. — A Rhode Island man who killed a young boy in 1975 and kept his shellacked bones in his house for years has again been ordered to stay in prison a little while longer because of disciplinary problems, a corrections spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Michael Woodmansee is now set to be released from the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston on Sept. 11, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Tracey Zeckhausen. Woodmansee, 53, had been scheduled to be released from prison on Thursday and has agreed to commit himself voluntarily to a state mental health facility.
Woodmansee was convicted of second-degree murder after admitting he killed 5-year-old Jason Foreman in South Kingstown and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He is eligible for early release after nearly 29 years in prison under Rhode Island’s good-time law, which shaves time off the sentences of well-behaved inmates.
Zeckhausen said Woodmansee’s early release date was pushed back after he refused to participate in a prison count on Aug. 20. He pleaded guilty to the offense and did not appeal, she said.
In May, officials extended Woodmansee’s prison term and docked him 10 days of early-release time after he flushed a razor down a toilet. Razors are to be returned to correction officers.
Woodmansee has agreed to admit himself voluntarily to the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals once he’s freed.
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin, who proposed eliminating good-time credits for murderers, rapists and child molesters because of the Woodmansee case, said in a statement that he is prepared to take action if Woodmansee seeks to be released by state mental health officials.
“At this time, I am satisfied with the measures in place for the voluntary commitment process to ensure that Michael Woodmansee remains in a secure facility, keeping our communities safe from this child killer,” Kilmartin said. “It remains the prerogative of this office to seek immediate involuntary commitment should circumstances change, and I will not hesitate to use every available legal avenue to ensure Woodmansee is not released back into our community.”
Bills to restrict credits for good behavior passed the Senate but not the House earlier this year. Lawmakers charged a task force with reviewing state rules on early release to ensure that any changes don’t go too far or overburden corrections officials by keeping certain offenders behind bars longer.
Rep. Teresa Tanzi, D-South Kingstown, who worked on the legislation, said the Woodmansee case shows the need to change early release policies.
“A brutal murderer should not get one third of their sentence shaved off,” she said. “Justice is not served in that kind of situation. … We are very lucky that things [in the Woodmansee case] turned out the way they did. We’re going to go forward to ensure that we have the system in place for when luck isn’t on our side.”
Associated Press writer David Klepper contributed to this report.