CLIFTON, Texas — Joe Bryan, the Clifton man who was convicted of the 1985 murder of his wife, was granted parole, his family said in a Facebook post Friday.
Bryan was found guilty in 1986 of killing his wife Mickey. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison but when the trial was reversed, Bryan was found guilty again in 1989 and he’s been in prison ever since.
"We are beyond ECSTATIC to hear this news! It feels so surreal after all these years," the family said in the post. "We do not have any information about his actual release date but we wanted to share the good news with you."
Mickey, who was a 4th-grade teacher at Clifton Elementary, was found dead in their Clifton home on Oct. 15, 1985. Bryan, who was the principal at Clifton High School, has always maintained he was at a principal's convention in Austin at the time of his wife's death.
Bryan and his family say he is innocent despite the possibility that a confession could have meant earlier parole.
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