Robber sentenced to 13 yrs in prison, but was never told to report

[davidn3600]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — After he was convicted of armed robbery in 2000, Cornealious Anderson was sentenced to 13 years behind bars and told to await instructions on when and where to report to prison. But those instructions never came.

So Anderson didn't report. He spent the next 13 years turning his life around — getting married, raising three kids, learning a trade. He made no effort to conceal his identity or whereabouts. Anderson paid taxes and traffic tickets, renewed his driver's license and registered his businesses.

Not until last year did the Missouri Department of Corrections discover the clerical error that kept him free. Now he's fighting for release, saying authorities missed their chance to incarcerate him.

In a single day last July, Anderson's life was turned upside-down.

"They sent a SWAT team to his house," Anderson's attorney, Patrick Megaro, said Wednesday. "He was getting his 3-year-old daughter breakfast, and these men with automatic weapons bang on his door."
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Peter Joy, director of the Criminal Justice Clinic at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, said it isn't unusual in a country with such a high prison population for sentences to fall through the cracks. What is unusual, Joy said, is for it to go unnoticed for so long.

"The real tragedy here is that one aspect of prison is the idea of rehabilitation," Joy said. "Here we have somebody who has led a perfect life for 13 years. He did everything right. So he doesn't need rehabilitation."

http://news.yahoo.com/armed-robber-never-told-report-prison-195146743.html

[joshcryer]

1. Earlier post:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024832750

[mfcorey1]

2. He has done what the prison system often fails to do: rehabilitate himself. I say

the sentence has been served. Free him.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

4. amen...

[brewens]

3. 13 years with that hanging over your head is almost like parole for all that time. He went

about his business doing things that would have his name popping up in government systems all the time but he sure didn't want to have to deal with law enfocement. I'd be terrified of even getting pulled over by the cops in that situation.

That should be a pardon.

[Orrex]

5. This American Life ran an excellent story on this a few weeks back

Even the victim agrees that Anderson has been rehabilitated.

[Lancero]

6. So, he knew he was supposed to serve 13 years...

And he never thought about going and asking "Hey, when am I supposed to recieve those instructions on when and where to serve?"

Both sides are at fault here. The Missouri DoC for allowing this to slip through the cracks for so long, and Cornealious for not caring enough to actually check in on the status of the instructions.

But at the same time, it's hard to justify throwing him into jail now that the error has been discovered. He has adhered to all laws during that time, so it's hard to argue that he is a risk to the public.

Best, and quickest, solution would be for Missouri's governor to commute the sentence.