Police may be close to releasing records in Peter Reilly case
TOLLAND, Conn. --
State police records on Peter Reilly, who was convicted of killing his
mother in 1973 and then later exonerated, are expected to made public
soon.
State police have struck a tentative deal with a Kent author and the weekly Lakeville Journal newspaper to release the documents, the Journal Inquirer reported Friday.
Under the proposed agreement, Reilly would then hand the documents over to the author, Donald S. Connery, who would share the information with the Lakeville Journal.
The state Freedom of Information Commission ruled in September that state police should only release records that do not solely pertain to the charges brought against Reilly.
The state's criminal erasure law generally forbids officials from releasing any information on a criminal case that has ended without a conviction. Reilly has said that he doesn't need or want the protection of the law because he feels his name has not been truly cleared yet.
The proposed settlement calls on the commission to vacate its order. The commission may make a decision on the settlement at its meeting next month.
Reilly, who now lives in Tolland, was convicted of killing his mother, Barbara Gibbons, in Canaan more than 30 years ago. But he was later cleared following a private investigation and a review called for by celebrities, including Arthur Miller, who died Friday.