Montana governor frees man in 1979 murder he long denied

Traditionally, it was the parole board that was the sole body tasked with issuing clemency for a prisoner, but a new state law now permits the governor to grant it, if desired.

Dateline has been following Beach’s case for almost a decade.

In 1984, a jury convicted Beach of the 1979 murder of Poplar teen Kim Nees.

Beach told reporters that having to turn himself back in was the worst experience of his life, and there was still “a lot of healing and a lot of tears” to come.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock today signed an executive order, granting Beach’s request for clemency.

Under the clemency order, Bullock commuted Beach’s sentence to time served with an additional 10 years suspended, during which Beach will be on probation and supervised by the state Department of Corrections.

Beach, however, has long maintained his innocence.

The governor also said Beach had a good prison record and had shown during his 18 months of freedom from November 2011-May 2013 that he could be a productive citizen.

A judge sentenced Beach to 100 years in prison.

May 31, 2008: A district court judge in Wolf Point denies Beach a new trial request based on new testimony from clemency hearing.

Beach, 53, has been serving a 100-year sentence in Montana State Prison for deliberate homicide in the 1979 beating death of Kimberly Nees, 17, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, in the northeast corner of the state. Beach and his supporters were ceaseless in their quest, petitioning repeatedly to have his case reviewed and his sentence overturned.

But the Montana Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the lower court erred in granting a new trial because Beach did not prove his first trial was constitutionally flawed, and because the new evidence was tied to witnesses whose stories had changed.

A cousin of the victim, Glenna Nees Lockman, said Friday it was shameful Beach had been released without someone else being charged in the crime. Beach already has proven he can handle life outside prison by staying employed and out of trouble when he was previously released, Phillips said.

Bullock a year ago asked the state parole board to consider whether Beach served enough time in prison. Jon Tester, former Gov. Brian Schweitzer and former Republican U.S. Sen.

Beach confessed to the crime but has since claimed that confession was coerced and has been fighting to clear his name for years. Last year, a parole board denied Beach’s request for clemency.

“I knew I was going to be here someday”, he said.