By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 10, 2007

Arthur Bremer, the man who shot and paralyzed presidential candidate George C. Wallace in 1972, was released from a Maryland prison yesterday, having shaved 17 years off his sentence through work and good behavior.

Bremer, who will remain under supervision until 2025, will not be allowed to leave Maryland without written permission from parole officials and will be required to submit to electronic monitoring. He will also be required to stay away from local, state, federal and foreign elected officials, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said in a statement.

On May 15, 1972, Bremer opened fire on Wallace, who was then the Alabama governor, during a campaign appearance in a parking lot outside the Laurel Shopping Center. Four people were struck, all of whom survived.

Bremer was convicted of four counts of assault with intent to murder and other charges after a jury rejected his insanity defense. Wallace used a wheelchair and was in constant pain until his death in 1998.

In recent weeks, George Wallace Jr. has expressed concern about Bremer's release. "When I think about how my father suffered, I wonder if justice has been served by his release," he said in an interview.

Although he yearned for fame at the time of the shooting, Bremer, now 57, has not spoken publicly since his trial that year and did not respond to a recent written request for an interview.

Although he had no particular cause to champion, Bremer hoped that an assassination would make him famous, according to his diary. In one of the final entries, Bremer wrote: "My cry upon firing will be, 'A penny for your thoughts.' "

As historians record the event, no one at the Laurel Shopping Center heard him say those words.