Man Convicted Of 1997 Murder Free On $10K Bail, Pending New Trial

BOSTON — Last month a Superior court judge allowed for a new trial for a Boston man convicted of killing Jasper Gillard more than 22 years ago. Today a Norfolk Superior judge granted him free on $10,0000 bail - after some 22 years in prison for a murder he said he didn’t commit - pending a new trial, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Joseph Bennett, 44, whose motion for a new trial in the 1997 murder of Jasper Gillard was allowed on April 16 by Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp, happens to be the nephew of Willie Bennett, the man falsely accused of killing Carol Stuart 1989, according to the Boston Herald.

Joseph Bennett was convicted in 1998 of second-degree murder in Gillard’s Jan. 9, 1997, shooting death in Mattapan. He appealed that conviction in 2001, and the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed it, the District Attorney's office said.

During a hearing today held in Norfolk Superior Court, Krupp allowed the defendant’s motion for bail over the objections of Suffolk prosecutors. Bail was set in the amount of $10,000 with orders that the defendant abide by a curfew, submit to GPS monitoring, and that he stay away and have no contact with Gillard’s family, according to the DA's office.

Prosecutors reviewing the decision allowing a new trial, they said.

The case is set to return to court May 15.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).