Convicted in 1975 of Pittsburgh murder, ailing inmate dies 12 days after release from prison

A quadriplegic man granted compassionate release last month after spending nearly 49 years in prison for murder died Saturday, less than two weeks after a judge granted the order to move him to a long-term care facility.

Ezra Bozeman, 68, never made it to the care facility.

Instead, 12 days after a judge granted the release, he died at UPMC Altoona, where he had been placed on life support May 20.

Dolly Prabhu, an attorney with the Abolitionist Law Center who filed the petition for Bozeman’s release, confirmed his death.

“It’s really cruel he had to wait until he was so sick to even be eligible for compassionate release,” she said Monday. “And on top of that for the (district attorney) to cause unnecessary delays, it just emphasizes how urgent these cases are.”

Bozeman, who continued to proclaim his innocence, was serving a sentence of life without parole for second-degree murder. He was convicted in October 1975 for killing Morris Weitz during a robbery at Highland Cleaners in Highland Park.

During his time in prison, Bozeman became a model inmate and mentor and served as a certified peer specialist, his supporters said.

But in February, Bozeman was paralyzed from the neck down following spinal surgery for an injury that had been misdiagnosed four years ago.

He was unable to move his limbs, lost 50 pounds and had a colostomy.

When he applied for compassionate release under Pennsylvania law, his request was supported by several state representatives, as well as Gov. Josh Shapiro.

But at the first hearing on the issue on May 14, Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Ron Wabby Jr. refused to concede Bozeman’s medical diagnoses, which gave him less than a year to live, or that he deserved compassionate release.

The judge asked Prabhu to call Bozeman’s doctor as a witness to confirm what had been submitted in medical records, and the hearing was rescheduled for May 20. However, the day before, Bozeman was rushed to UPMC Altoona and placed on life support.

“These need to be treated like emergency proceedings by all parties,” Prabhu said.

Even after Allegheny County Common Pleas President Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente granted the order for compassionate release May 21, Prabhu said the state Department of Corrections misinterpreted it.

She claimed the corrections department believed that until Bozeman made it to the long-term care facility, he should still be under strict supervision by prison guards, according to Prabhu. Corrections officers were stationed in Bozeman’s hospital room, and they severely restricted visitors, Prabhu said.

The corrections department Monday said the judge’s order granting compassionate release required him to go to an acute care facility in the Philadelphia area, but Bozeman’s doctor did not think the inmate could make the trip safely.

“That meant that by law Mr. Bozeman had to remain in DOC custody until the order was amended on May 22,” said Ryan Tarkowski, a corrections spokesman.

Prabhu asked the judge May 22 to amend the order to clarify that Bozeman had been released from the custody of the state.

“We had to go back to the court to beg just for human decency to have visitors at the end of his life,” Prabhu said. “The time is so precious, and for it to be wasted on stupid things like this, it was just ridiculous.”

Even beforethe order was amended, Tarkowski said, Bozeman’s fiancée was allowed to visit him.

Ultimately, Bozeman was able to visit with his loved ones, Prabhu said, including his fiancee, Christine Roess.

Roess remained frustrated Monday at the care Bozeman received, including having his leg chained to the hospital bed after his compassionate release was granted.

She derided the prison system for failing to provide him adequate medical care, physical therapy and nutrition.

“It was a stark example of institutionalized indifference at best. Really more accurately, brutal, and cruel treatment of human beings,” said Roess, 78, of suburban Philadelphia.

Roess said she will continue to share Bozeman’s story in an effort to change how the system handles cases like his.

“He was the kindest, gentlest, most loving man I ever met,” she said.