PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh man who was expected to be released from prison -- where he's spent all of his adult life, -- will remain behind bars following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling related to the sentencing of juveniles.
Ricky Olds was 14 years old in 1979 when he was convicted in connection with the shooting death of postal worker Thomas Beitler in Pittsburgh’s North Side. Olds, now 51, was part of a robbery, but did not pull the trigger.
“I think he was in eighth grade when he went to prison in 1979. He went to jail and never came home, his mother said,” attorney Wendy Williams told Channel 11 News.
Olds was expected to be released last Tuesday, but his release was delayed. A motion for bond pending appeal filed by Williams on Monday was denied on Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
Olds will remain behind bars during the course of his appeal, which comes four years after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to life in prison. The ruling can be applied retroactively, opening the door for people such as Olds to be considered for a reduced sentence.
Channel 11 News found an article from the Pittsburgh Press from July 6, 1980, and it said he was a “high school sophomore with a relatively good academic record.”
The article said Olds took the stand in his own defense, saying he didn’t know Roderick Allen was going to commit a robbery. Olds told jurors he thought Allen was “joking when he suggested they pick someone off the street in order to make some money,” according to the article.
The Pittsburgh Press article said the judge tried to get the then-district attorney to offer a plea deal after the jury’s verdict, but because Olds opted to go to trial and turned down other deals, he wouldn’t negotiate.
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