Ala. judge orders release in church arson case

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – One of three men who pleaded guilty to arson in a series of 2006 rural Alabama church fires has been granted an early release from prison.

Bibb County Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins on Monday ordered the release of 25-year-old Russell DeBusk.

DeBusk, a former Birmingham-Southern College student, was convicted of setting fires at five Bibb County churches. He was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and to a 15-year sentence in Alabama. Two of those years were to be served in state prison and the remainder on supervised release.

Wiggins ordered DeBusk's release, saying the state sentence could run concurrently with the federal sentence that DeBusk has already served.

District Attorney Michael Jackson said he is "outraged" and trying to determine if he can appeal Wiggins' order.