In the screenshots I show two similar setups with 4 pistons all connected by redstone on blocks directly above the pistons, and a lever over each piston. Turning any lever on will extend all 4 pistons, but which pistons retract when it is turned off again is determined by which lever was used. The screenshots show the results after flipping the left-most lever on and off (-after-1), then the second left-most (-after-2), etc.
Environment
Ubuntu 12.10
java version "1.7.0_15"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (IcedTea7 2.3.7) (7u15-2.3.7-0ubuntu1~12.10.1)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.7-b01, mixed mode)
Duplicate of MC-11193, please use the search function to see if your bug has already been submitted. Currently over 54% of tickets are being closed as duplicate.