Former Alabama state trooper James Fowler is out of jail after serving a six-month sentence for killing civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson 46 years ago.

Fowler is free after serving six months in the Geneva County Jail.

District Attorney Michael Jackson, who prosecuted the case, said though the sentence was short, it was a landmark victory.

“This was a very important case for a number of reasons,” he said. “It is a little known fact that Fowler is the only law enforcement officer to go to jail for anything that happened during the civil rights era.”

Jackson said he hopes the time incarcerated gave Fowler plenty of opportunities to think about what he did.

“I hope the time he spent behind bars caused him to reflect on the grief he caused Jimmie Lee Jackson’s friends and family.”

The former state trooper, now in his late 70s, shot Jackson during a civil rights demonstration in 1965. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Jackson’s death in November.

He had sought early release on grounds that he had medical problems that need immediate attention.

In March, Fowler, who pled guilty in November to the 1965 shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson, cited deteriorating health conditions when he asked for a hearing to cut short his jail sentence.

However, in April Fowler withdrew the request just one day ahead of the hearing before Circuit Judge Tommy Jones.

Fowler was sentenced to six months in jail for a reduced charge of second-degree manslaughter.

Prior to the start of the six-month sentence, Fowler had requested to not serve any time in jail as he was former law enforcement and feared for his safety in jail.