The Herald Bulletin

Morning Update

Breaking News

September 2, 2010

Goudy freed from prison

CARLISLE, Ind. — “It’s a very joyous day,” Walter Goudy said Thursday outside the gates of the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. “I don’t hold no hatred or animosity toward anyone.”

Goudy has been behind bars since age 26 — he’s now 42 — convicted of murder in the 1994 shooting death of Marvin McCloud of Anderson.

Goudy says he is very thankful for his supportive family, who he says stuck with him through the years as he maintained his innocence in the shooting.

His conviction was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago on May 3, and the state was given 120 days to decide whether to retry or release Goudy. Just 40 minutes prior to the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline to refile charges in the case, a special prosecutor turned in the paperwork for a retrial.

Then on Wednesday, Special Prosecutor Barry Brown filed a motion to release Goudy. At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, he walked out of the prison gates into the waiting arms of his mother, Christine Goudy, who said she has not seen her son during his time in prison.

“He looks the same,” Christine said as she watched her son make his way through the maze of gates at the exit. She kept glancing at a cell phone with his photo displayed next to a photo of his father, and she remarked that their resemblance was striking.

Walking beside a cart carrying his belongings, Goudy waved one arm high over his head when he saw his mother, who was smiling, pressing her hands together, fingers to her lips as she witnessed his freedom.

She and Goudy’s fiancee, Meeulonda Williams of Indianapolis, seemed to be a mixed bag of emotions — from happy to nervous to anxious — as they waited outside the prison while Walter traded in his prison garb for the white shirt, long, dark blue shorts and white sneakers they had brought for him to wear.

A long hug between Walter and his mother was followed by a welcoming embrace with Williams, and then repeated hugs as the three united.

Walter says he connected with Williams five years ago through a pen pal program. “God sent her to me,” he said, explaining that even knowing his situation in prison, Williams stayed with him.

Williams said she and Christine Goudy only found out Thursday morning that Walter would be released as soon as they arrived to pick him up at the prison. They had been waiting in Indianapolis since Wednesday for news on Goudy’s status. After receiving word from defense attorney Mark Maynard of Anderson that Walter would be released, the two women hopped in Williams’ car and made the trip to Carlisle for the first of many reunions that Walter will have in coming days.

“We’re trying to absorb all this,” Williams said of Goudy’s release.

Christine Goudy said she planned to take Walter first to see the gravesites of his father and grandparents, all of whom died while he was incarcerated.

He also will visit with his four children, who were ages 3, 2 and “two in the womb” when he was arrested. On Tuesday, his oldest child will turn age 19.

“I can’t wait to see them,” said a smiling Walter, whose first grandchild, a girl, was born nearly three months ago.

As for his future plans, Goudy said he would like to get into real estate as an occupation, but his passion is to work with at-risk youth “to keep them from going through the system like this.”

Lisa Trigg is a reporter for the Tribune Star in Terre Haute.

Text Only
Breaking News
  • Folk musician Doc Watson dies in NC hospital at 89

    Doc Watson, the blind Grammy-award winning folk musician whose mountain-rooted sound was embraced by generations and whose lightning-fast style of flatpicking influenced guitarists around the world, died Tuesday, according to a hospital spokeswoman and his manager. He was 89.

    May 29, 2012

  • Trump overshadows Romney with 'birther' talk

    Mitt Romney's presidential campaign collided with Donald Trump's "birther" rhetoric on Tuesday as the reality television star hosted a fundraiser for the Republican while claiming again that President Barack Obama is foreign-born.

    May 29, 2012

  • Hundreds pay respects to slain Indiana soldier

    Hundreds of people turned out for the funeral of a northeastern Indiana soldier who was killed by enemy rocket fire in Afghanistan.

    May 29, 2012

  • Four companies to pay $5M in FEMA trailer settlement

    Four FEMA contractors that installed or maintained government-issued trailers for storm victims after Hurricane Katrina have agreed to pay a total of $5 million to resolve claims that the temporary shelters exposed Gulf Coast residents to hazardous fumes, according to court filings Tuesday.

    May 29, 2012

  • Allisonville Road bridge project in Indianapolis begins Wednesday

    The already rough commute on the Northeastside of Indianapolis will only get longer this summer.

    To complete a $19 million road improvement as quickly as possible, state highway officials Wednesday will close the Allisonville Road bridge over I-465 for up to 110 days.

    May 29, 2012

  • A rare gain for the Dow on hopes for China growth

    The stock market is desperately looking for good news.

    On Tuesday, oil prices fell, the euro sank to a 22-month low, and the yield on the U.S. government's 10-year Treasury note fell near a historic low after a report suggested that Spain will have more trouble repaying its debts.

    May 29, 2012

  • Romney to clinch GOP nomination with Texas win

    Mitt Romney is set to clinch the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night with a win in the Texas primary, a triumph of endurance for a candidate who came up short four years ago and watched this year as voters flirted for months with a carousel of GOP rivals.

    May 29, 2012

  • New cyberweapon discovered; Iranian computers hit

    May 29, 2012

  • Delaware County grandstand likely done by July

     Delaware County says the show will go on this summer with new fair grandstand after it demolished the old one because of safety concerns found during an inspection prompted by the deadly Indiana State Fair stage collapse.

    May 29, 2012

  • UN: Most of 108 killed in Syria were executed

    The U.N.'s human rights office said Tuesday that most of the 108 victims of a massacre in Syria last week were shot at close range, some of them women, children and entire families gunned down in their own homes.

    May 29, 2012

Featured Ads
More Resources from The Herald Bulletin
AP Video
California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin 6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee Video Essay: Funky Winkerbean Comic Turns 40 On Thailand Trip, Suu Kyi Visits Migrants Raw Video: Pink Diamond Auctioned for $17.4M Hurricane Andrew Remembered, 20 Years Later Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report 15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108 Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Helium debate
Helium
Front page
Poll

Do school administrators do enough to stop bullying?

No, too much of it goes on to stop
Yes, they follow through on complaints
I’m not sure how many really care about bullying
     View Results