The state will ask the Hawaii Paroling Authority to require a woman convicted in a 1978 murder to serve more than the 30 years she has already been in prison before she is eligible for parole.

Circuit Judge Michael Town sentenced Maryann Acker, now Maryann Bray, to life in prison yesterday with the possibility for parole a second time for the 1978 shooting death of Lawrence Hasker.

A state jury found her guilty in 1982 of second-degree murder for pulling the trigger. The conviction was overturned on appeal, and a second jury found her guilty in September of being an accomplice.

Bray, 49, offered her condolences to Hasker's brother and sisters, who were in court yesterday. But she continues to declare her innocence.

“;Even though I was convicted as an accomplice, I wasn't part of a plan or any discussions for anyone to be killed. I didn't know that that's what was in William's mind,”; Bray said, referring to her former husband, William Acker.

  Bray Receives Life Behind Bars For 30-Year Old Murder

 

Maryann Bray received the automatic sentence of life in prison for murdering Larry Hasker over 30 years ago.

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“;Not just 12, but 24 jurors have now decided that she did,”; countered Deputy Prosecutor Landon Murata.

Hasker's younger brother said he also does not believe Bray.

“;She lied before and she's still lying,”; Joe Hasker said.

William Acker said it was his wife who shot Hasker. The state gave him immunity from a murder charge in a plea deal.

He and Bray are still serving prison time for a murder they committed in California six days after Hasker's.

Following the 1982 conviction, the Hawaii Paroling Authority set a 30-year minimum for Bray's eligibility for parole. Her parole hearings for the Hasker and California murders were put on hold pending the retrial of the Hasker murder.

The state asked Bray to plead guilty to manslaughter rather than go to trial a second time. She refused.

Had she accepted the offer, she would have been released from any prison obligation in Hawaii and free to argue her release in front of the California parole board.

Bray said yesterday she does not regret her decision to go to trial.