After being sentenced to life without parole, a man convicted of a Cranberry Township murder in 1984 may soon get his day before the parole board.

County court Judge William Robinson in a resentencing hearing Monday changed the sentence of Raymond Williams, who was convicted of murder at age 17 and is now 55, to 30 years to life in prison, and recommended the state parole board “pay immediate attention” to Williams' case.

Williams' resentencing, coming after he has served 37 years in prison, comes on the heels of both U.S. and Pennsylvania supreme court decisions limiting the ways in which juveniles can be sentenced to a life prison sentence with no possibility of parole.

The federal court ruled juveniles cannot face that sentence as a matter of law. That is, juveniles may be sentenced to life without parole, but it may not be applied because the law mandates the sentence; instead, courts must decide a sentence based on several factors, including the defendant's immaturity, family home environment and circumstances of the offense.

Three witnesses Williams' attorneys presented to the court Monday spoke of his immaturity as an adolescent, and all four witnesses discussed his maturity as a 55-year-old, leading the court to find Williams “very well rehabilitated.”

Williams, along with his older step-brother, Ron Williams, was convicted in 1985 for the murder of Archie S. Bradley, 38, in a Cranberry truck depot.In testimony Monday, Laura Hinds, a social worker who spoke of Williams' maturing after conviction, said Williams identified the murder as drug-related. According to Hinds, Williams told her he murdered Bradley because Bradley had borrowed money from him — money that belonged not to Williams, but to a Detroit drug cartel.Hinds testified that Williams told her he paid Bradley a visit to be repaid the money, but was rebuked. Williams then asked for a second meeting with Bradley, where Williams was “roughed up.” The night of Aug. 5, 1985, at the Norsub depot on Route 19, was the third visit. Williams brought a handgun “for protection,” but it turned into a murder weapon.

Both of Williams' stepbrothers received the most serious sentence: Death.In 1987, Williams won reprieve from the state Supreme Court, which sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole. According to the March 18, 1987, Butler Eagle, the high court ruled Williams' sentence was improper because jurors heard he was “wanted in two other states on murder charges.”The court at that time, however, declined to grant him a new trial, or to impose a sentence that would give him the chance to live as a free man.

In 1984, Williams was angry, according to his stepfather, Aaron Williams. That's not an adjective he would use to describe the 55-year-old now.Instead, Aaron Williams called Raymond a good father, voracious reader and someone who can practice self-control.Those descriptions were echoed by two other family members Monday, including Williams' co-defendant, Ron Williams, and his son, Adrian Williams.Ron Williams, who was released from prison roughly two months ago, said he witnessed Raymond's maturing first-hand in prison, and recalled one specific anecdote: Raymond was part of the weightlifting team, and someone at one point punched him in the face. A younger Raymond would have fought back; this version didn't.“For my brother to maintain discipline when somebody punched him in the face, it was unheard of,” Ron Williams said. “But he did.”Adrian Williams, who didn't know Raymond was his father until age 8, described his father as a positive influence on his life, saying he made sure to visit whenever his grandfather was in town or when his mom could take him. He also called Raymond an “understanding” person.“I was scared to talk to my dad about my sexuality ... but he accepts me for who I am,” Adrian Williams said.

Speaking toward the end of the hearing Monday, Williams, taking off his glasses to read his prepared speech, said he's often thought about what he would say if he could be resentenced.“I wish I could go back and change the past,” he said. “Not a day has gone by I haven't thought about the loss of Mr. Bradley and the events of that night.”At one point, Robinson stopped Williams, who was crying, to offer him a box of tissues. Williams took two tissues and continued his speech, apologizing to everyone he has harmed: Archie Bradley, Bradley's family, Williams' family, the court and more.Hinds said Williams has expressed to her his deep sorrow for what he had done. He acknowledged, Hinds said, his actions affected more than just Bradley: They took a husband from his wife, a father from his children, a coworker and a neighbor.

Robinson's ruling didn't free Williams. He'll return to the State Correctional Institution at Somerset, where Robinson recommended — more than once — the parole board seriously examine his case.For Ron Williams, whose sentence was similarly shortened, it was still a good day.“I'm very thankful for that,” he said.If released on parole, Williams' family members all expressed a desire to help him acclimate to society after 37 years of being locked away. For Robinson, it reminded him of a familiar saying: It takes a village to raise a child.“Mr. Williams, in your case you have a village,” the judge said. “And it will take that village to raise you as an adult” and reintegrate into society.