Rumors have swirled recently over whether Johannes Mehserle, the former Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer convicted last summer of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an unarmed Oscar Grant, had already been released from prison. Those rumors have turned out to be false. Mehserle, however, may walk out of prison some time in June.

Former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle shot an unarmed Oscar Grant III on New Year’s Day 2009 on an Oakland subway platform.  Grant died hours later at a local hospital.  Amid extensive pre-trial publicity and accusations that African-Americans were prejudiced, the trial was moved to Los Angeles last fall.  The jury in the Los Angeles is made

by Lance Williams

 Johannes Mehserle, the former transit police officer who shot an unarmed* man on an Oakland BART platform, wants the judge to set him free pending appeal.

Johannes Mehserle, the former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer convicted of killing unarmed Oscar Grant in July of this year, was denied bail yesterday [Dec. 3],  by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry.

Michael Rains, attorney for Mehserle, had asked the court allow his client to go free pending an appeal of the involuntary manslaughter conviction handed down by a Los Angeles jury on July 8.