Maquoketa murderer now eligible for parole.

A Maquoketa man who has spent nearly 30 years in prison for a murder committed in 1984 in Maquoketa will now be eligible for parole.

During a resentencing hearing Friday, Judge Mark Smith ruled Mitchell Ronek, 47, is now sentenced to life in prison with parole with a minimum of 25 years in prison and credit for time served.
Ronek was sentenced in April 1985 to life in prison without parole. Ronek was convicted of murdering Thomas Goodwin of Maquoketa on Oct. 8, 1984, at the Hurst Hotel.
Jackson County Attorney Sara Davenport said Ronek turned 18 less than three months after the murder. He was tried as an adult.

The resentencing came about after federal and state courts ruled it was unconstitutional that juveniles were subject to mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole.

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