A man imprisoned three years ago in connection with the death of his son was granted judicial release from prison last week because of his serious, chronic health problems.

In June 2002, Gerald Deer, 51, of Ironton, was sentenced to two consecutive four-year prison terms after he pleaded guilty to corrupting another with drugs and involuntary manslaughter, both

felonies.

This was in connection with the March 2002 death of his son, Eric, who was 24. Under the terms, Deer would not have been eligible to ask for judicial release until he had served five years in prison.

Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Richard Walton re-sentenced Deer last week to two four-year terms to run concurrently, and then granted Deer judicial release with four years probation.

&#8220I appreciate what you've done for me,” Deer told the court, citing a myriad of health problems that plague him, such as cirrhosis, diabetes and cancer. He has been hospitalized recently for those illnesses. He attended last week's conference in a wheel chair.

The younger Deer died after overdosing on Fentanyl, the chief ingredient in synthetic morphine patches.

The death took place at the home of former attorney Richard Wolfson. Gerald Deer, Wolfson and his wife, Mary Wolfson, all pleaded guilty to various charges in connection with Eric Deer's death.

Also Wednesday, an Ironton woman was sentenced to four years community controlled sanctions under intensive supervised probation after she pleaded guilty to a single count of

fifth-degree felony theft.

Esther Fraley, 39, 1905 S. Third St., was accused of cashing a $40 check that did not belong to her.

As part of her sentence, Fraley will serve 60 days home confinement and make restitution to her victim.