Barry Beachman convicted in '79 killing

HELENA (AP) — A bill signed by Montana's governor could pave the way to clemency for Barry Beach, who is serving a 100-year prison sentence for a 1979 murder he says he didn't commit.

Gov. Steve Bullock signed the measure Friday after it passed the Legislature with wide bipartisan support. The bill allows the governor to grant clemency to prisoners even if the state parole board recommends against it.

The governor also will be able to waive fines, lessen a sentence or pardon someone after the law takes effect Oct. 1.

Bullock declined to comment specifically on Beach's case Monday, but he previously voiced support for commuting Beach's life sentence and giving him a chance for rehabilitation outside prison.

Beach has fought for years for his release, saying the confession used to convict him in Kimberly Nees' beating death near Poplar was coerced. The New Jersey-based prisoner advocacy group Centurion Ministries has worked to free him, and hundreds of supporters have taken up his cause.

Attorneys for the state say Beach has been given unprecedented opportunity to argue his innocence and deserves no more. They say Nees' mother has suffered in silence for decades as Beach's appeals have continued, and it's time for the case to be settled.