Tyson Released From Prison
Mike Tyson was released today from a Maryland jail after serving 3 1/2 months for assaulting two motorists.
The former heavyweight champion was released after an Indiana judge ended his probation for a 1992 rape conviction.
Superior Court Judge Patricia Gifford of Marion County, Ind., approved Tyson's release Friday, but the decision was not announced until today, said Becky Wagner, the judge's assistant chief clerk.
Tyson was granted parole in Maryland on Friday. Indiana authorities needed to approve the decision before Tyson could go home for the first time since he was sentenced Feb. 5.
Tyson had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a minor traffic accident in suburban Gaithersburg, Md. He was sentenced to one year in the Montgomery County jail, and another 60 days were added as punishment for violating probation for the rape conviction.
The Maryland Parole Commission voted 5-1 Friday to grant Tyson's release.
Tyson manager Shelley Finkel said today he will "have to sit down and talk with Mike about his boxing plans."
Asked if he thought Tyson might fight this year, Finkel said, "I haven't seen any reason for him not to."
Tyson has three fights remaining on a deal with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and at least three more fights with Showtime.
The 32-year-old boxer last fought Jan. 16 and was behind on all three cards before he knocked out Francois Botha in the fifth round at Las Vegas.
Wagner said Gifford and Tyson's lawyers had agreed that the jail time already served by Tyson in Maryland for an assault conviction satisfied the penalty he incurred for violating Indiana probation for the rape conviction.
The agreement releasing Tyson from his Indiana probation was struck originally in March by Gifford, Tyson's probation officer and his Indianapolis lawyer, James Voyles.
That agreement allowed Tyson to be released from probation after he served his 30-day jail sentence in Maryland, Wagner said. No additional hearing was needed on the matter.
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