The convicted killer running for office in Florida after spending 30 years in prison

A convicted killer is running for office in Florida despite spending more than 30 years in prison for murder.

Michael Bruyette, 59, was convicted of second-degree murder in Massachusetts in 1985 and was paroled with special conditions in 2016 for demonstrating good behavior.

Lisa Grimshaw reportedly paid him and two other men to kill her abusive husband on the condition she would share his $300,000 life insurance policy with them.

Bruyette was 19 when he beat the man to death with a bat but insists he never meant to kill him. 

'My case never went to trial. I stepped up, and I said, yes, I did it,' he told Fox News Digital and claimed the prosecutors 'made it out to be much more than what it was'.

Convicted killer Michael Bruyette, 59, is running for office in Florida despite spending more than 30 years in prison for murder

Grimshaw drove Bruyette and the men to a boat launch area where she lured her husband out of the car by suggesting sex, according to state records.

Bruyette then repeatedly hit him with a baseball bat and took his wallet and the men left his body there and left the scene. 

'Later that night, they cleaned the car and stayed at Ms. Grimshaw’s apartment, where Bruyette and Grimshaw slept together,' the document states. 

Bruyette was arrested and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder before he was handed a life-sentence. 

'It's nothing more than me intervening on a guy that kept repeatedly raping his ex-wife, breaking into her home, beating her up. … One night, [the abuse] was happening, and this happened,' he said. 

'It wasn't my intention to kill this person.'

He became eligible for parole in August 2002 due to good behavior, although he was initially denied. 

Bruyette was then granted parole in 2007 and released in 2009 when he moved in with his father and stepmother in Palm Bay.

'Bruyette took positive steps while on parole that included obtaining full-time employment with the City of Palm Bay in their maintenance department and reporting that he had an internship with the City’s wastewater management plant,' his parole document states. 

But he was recalled to prison in 2011 after he allegedly punched a wall and told someone 'I am going to kill you'. 

He was arrested over the incident but later acquitted. Despite this, his parole was revoked due to irresponsible conduct, association with a person with a known criminal record and violation of a liquor abstinence condition.

He was convicted of second-degree murder in Massachusetts in 1985 and was paroled with special conditions in 2016 for demonstrating good behavior

It is unclear when he was allowed to move back to Florida but he is now running for Seat 3 on Palm Bay City Council

It is unclear when he was allowed to move back to Florida but he is now running for Seat 3 on Palm Bay City Council.

'I want this seat because nobody is doing anything here,' he told News 6. 

'I know what this city needs: we have nothing here for the kids. The Compound which is about 25 minutes away, and there’s high crime. 

'We need an auxiliary station. We need more officers. We need a lot in this city.'

He was allowed to run in the election by his parole officer. 

'It’s certainly an opportunity to show people that I have changed, but it’s not the reason why [I’m running]. I am passionate about this. I love this city,' he added. 

Bruyette insisted he has reflected on the incident which landed him in jail and said: 'I kind of regret getting involved because it cost me a lot of my life, and it cost a lot of judgment.

'That’s something that I can’t put away. You’re just going to have to trust me — let me earn your trust.'

The primary election will take place on August 20 while the general election takes place on November 5.