Latest News USA: Man Sentenced To Life After Stealing $50 In The ’80s Set To Walk Free
A 22-year-old man in Alabama identified as Alvin Kennard, was sentenced to life in prison in the 1980s after he stole about $50 from a bakery. However, after spending more than three decades behind bars, he is set to become a free again.
On Wednesday, a judge in Alabama sentenced Kennard to time served. Footage from the courtroom showed his family raising their fists into the air. Patricia Jones, Kennard’s niece, told CNN affiliate WBRC, “All of us cried. All of us cried”. He pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree burglary in connection with a break-in at a gas station, according to AL.com . Kennard was given a suspended sentence of three years and was put on probation.
According to WBRC, in 1983, Kennard was convicted of first-degree robbery after wielding a knife and stealing about $50 from a bakery. Under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act, more commonly known as the “three strikes law,” that crime got him life in prison without the possibility of parole. Court records show he was incarcerated at a state prison in Bessemer, Alabama. In 2013, the Alabama Sentencing Commission adopted new guidelines that allowed the judge to revisit the circumstances of Kennard’s case.
Kennard was represented at the hearing by Carla Crowder, executive director of the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, according to CNN affiliate WIAT. She argued that if her client had been sentenced today, he would have received a maximum sentence of about 20 years.
However, before Kennard is released, the judge has to file paperwork with the Alabama Department of Corrections. This makes it unclear when exactly he will be released. Kennard’s family will be there for him in this next phase of his life, according to Jones.
“We’ll just sit down and talk to him and see what he wants to do,” Jones told WBRC, adding that Kennard says he wants to get a job. “He wants to support himself and we’re going to support him.”
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