Associated Press - June 18, 2009 6:04 PM ET
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas parole board has recommended clemency for a woman convicted of capital murder in the 1977 kidnapping and slaying of a Little Rock man.
The board recommended Thursday that Gov. Mike Beebe commute Twyanna Faye Martin's life sentence.
Martin and three others were convicted in the kidnapping and death of Calvin Earl Smith, 17. Martin was 19 at the time.
Authorities say Smith was abducted from a restaurant in Little Rock on Sept. 4, 1977, and driven across the Arkansas River to North Little Rock. Police said he was either pushed into the river from an 18-foot-high dock, or he jumped to escape his captors. His body was found five days later.
Beebe will consider the recommendation after a 30-day public comment period.
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