Officials release inmate who was key in juvenile life debate

3 years ago 248

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana officials granted parole connected Wednesday to Henry Montgomery, whose Supreme Court lawsuit was instrumental successful extending the anticipation of state to hundreds of radical sentenced to beingness successful situation without the accidental for parole erstwhile they were juveniles.

Montgomery, 75, was released from situation soon aft the decision.

He had been convicted successful the 1963 sidesplitting of East Baton Rouge sheriff’s lawman Charles Hurt, who caught him skipping school. Montgomery was 17 astatine the time. He was initially sentenced to decease but the state’s Supreme Court threw retired his condemnation successful 1966, saying helium didn’t get a just trial. The lawsuit was retried, Montgomery convicted again but this clip sentenced to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole. He served decades astatine the Louisiana State Penitentiary astatine Angola.

A three-member committee voted unanimously successful favour of parole. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the gathering was held connected Zoom with Montgomery appearing connected camera astatine the Louisiana State Penitentiary astatine Angola wherever helium has spent his full big life.

“He’s been successful situation for 57 years. He has an fantabulous ... disciplinary record. He is simply a debased hazard by our assessment. He’s got bully comments from the warden. He has a precise bully situation record," said committee subordinate Tony Marabella arsenic helium voted to o.k. Montgomery's merchandise with definite conditions including a curfew and that helium person nary interaction with the victim's family.

Montgomery's merchandise owes backmost to 2 circumstantial Supreme Court cases. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled successful Miller v. Alabama that mandatory sentencing of beingness without parole for juvenile offenders was “cruel and unusual” punishment. But it didn’t settee the question of whether that determination applied retroactively oregon lone to cases going forward.

In 2016, the Supreme Court settled the substance erstwhile it took up Montgomery’s lawsuit and extended their determination connected specified sentences to radical already successful prison.

The determination ushered successful a question of caller sentences and the merchandise of inmates from Michigan to Pennsylvania, Arkansas and beyond. But, until Wednesday, Montgomery remained successful prison.

After the Supreme Court decision, helium was resentenced successful 2017 to beingness with parole and the authorities justice who resentenced Montgomery called him a “model prisoner” who appears to beryllium rehabilitated. But past the parole committee rejected his exertion 2 times, the astir caller rejection coming successful 2019.

Montgomery volition beryllium released into the attraction of the Louisiana Parole Project. The nonprofit was created successful 2016 by Andrew Hundley, a erstwhile juvenile lifer, to assistance radical who person served agelong situation sentences — mostly 20 years oregon much — reenter society. The enactment helps erstwhile inmates with housing, signing up for wellness attraction oregon medications, getting an ID paper and learning however to navigate society.

Hundley spoke during the hearing, with a fig of the erstwhile juveniles lifers who person gone done his programme sitting successful a country down him. When the unanimous determination was announced they could beryllium seen clapping astatine the news.

During the proceeding Hundley and others spoke of what Montgomery had accomplished successful situation including his years of enactment astatine the prison's silk surface store and the magnitude of his stay.

“There is thing near for him to execute astatine the Louisiana State Penitentiary," Hundley said. “It is clip for Henry to travel home.”

His merchandise was not without opposition. Hurt, the sheriff’s lawman who Montgomery killed, was joined and had 3 children. Two of his daughters person met with Montgomery successful situation and forgiven him, but household members person opposed his release. A authoritative from the country wherever Montgomery's transgression occurred spoke against his parole arsenic did 1 of the deputy's daughters, Linda Hurt Woods.

“I bash not judge that helium should beryllium released astatine this time," said Woods, saying that the determination shows heavy disrespect to instrumentality enforcement officers. “He made a determination astatine 17 years old. You cognize close from incorrect astatine 17. I did.”

Montgomery himself said small during the astir half-hour hearing. According to his lawyer Keith Nordyke, helium is highly hard of hearing, and Nordyke often had to repetition questions from the committee members. At times Montgomery said helium was struggling to find words to explicit himself.

“I’m truly atrocious that I, that this happened," Montgomery said. "I americium going to person to unrecorded with this each my life, the remainder of my life.”

Since the court’s Montgomery decision, astir 800 radical who had been sentenced to beingness without parole arsenic juveniles person been released, according to the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.

“The determination to assistance Mr. Montgomery parole contiguous is agelong overdue,” said Jody Kent Lavy, the organization's co-executive manager successful a statement. “It’s a sedate injustice that helium has served implicit 57 years successful situation for a transgression helium committed arsenic a teenager, contempt grounds helium was rehabilitated agelong ago.”

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Follow Santana connected Twitter @ruskygal.

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