State seeks to drop case to put Barry Beach back in prison

HELENA (AP) — State prosecutors decided to drop their attempts to put a convicted murderer who was granted clemency back in prison on Friday, a week after the city of Billings dismissed a misdemeanor charge against him.

Assistant Attorney General Ole Olson filed a court motion to dismiss a petition of revocation against Barry Beach, citing the dismissal of the Billings case and the testimony of a witness.

"The State agrees that in light of this evidence, that the case cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt or by a preponderance of the evidence," Olson wrote.

A Roosevelt County judge must sign off on the motion before the case is officially dropped.

Beach was convicted of deliberate homicide in the 1979 beating death of teenager Kim Nees and sentenced to 100 years in prison without parole. He maintained his innocence, and he was granted clemency by Gov. Steve Bullock in November 2015.

Last fall, Beach was charged with the misdemeanor crime of violating a temporary restraining order taken out against him by a woman who accused him of stalking her. Beach denied the charge and said the woman was his child's mother.

The charge prompted state officials to ask a judge to revoke Beach's suspended sentence and put him back in prison to serve the remainder of his time for the homicide conviction.

Billings officials dropped their case, citing "subsequent investigation and developments."

Olson wrote that state officials reviewed the case file and found the testimony of a witness who claimed she was with Beach and that any contact with his accuser was accidental.

Beach attorney Timothy Baldwin did not immediately return a call for comment.