Haiti judge orders release of 2 jailed Americans
Americans Jason "Zeke" Petrie, 39, left, and Steven Parker Shaw, 57, leave a courthouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday July 6, 2012. Petrie and Shaw were locked up for almost two months in a Haitian prison for their alleged role in a pro-army demonstration. Charges against them were dropped Friday during a court hearing because the judge said there wasn't enough evidence to hold them but released them with the condition the two would still need to make themselves available if the he had questions. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio CheryAP) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Two Americans locked up for almost two months in a Haitian prison for their alleged roles in a pro-army demonstration were released on Friday.
Judge Bredy Fabien said the charges against Jason William "Zeke" Petrie and Steven Parker Shaw were dropped because there wasn't enough evidence to hold them. But Fabien added that their release was conditional and the two still needed to be available if the judge had questions.
"Whenever I need them I can call them," Fabien told The Associated Press after the closed-door hearing.
The two were among more than 50 marchers who were locked up on May 18 for participating in a demonstration that pushed for the return of Haiti's disbanded armed forces.
Petrie and Shaw were initially charged with conspiracy after they allegedly drove a group of the hopeful soldiers in the march. That charge was later dismissed and they were charged with criminal association and attempted murder.
Petrie, 39, is from Barberton, Ohio; and Shaw, 57, is from Dighton, Massachusetts.
Upon their release, Petrie and Shaw hugged and kissed their girlfriends in the courtyard of the courthouse.
"You know what, it's a beautiful thing to be free — that's what I can tell you," Petrie as he put his arm around his girlfriend, Darlene Eliette, 20.
Still, John Shattuck, a family friend who worked with attorneys to secure their release, said he was hoping to fly the two out of the country after finding their passports.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57468000/haiti-judge-orders-release-of-2-jailed-americans/?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea
