Louisiana Man Freed After 41 Years Of Unconstitutional Time In Prison
Youngest Person On Death Row Is Freed At Age 57
Yesterday evening, a Louisiana man named Gary Tyler was freed from prisonafter spending 41 years of an unconstitutional life sentence in prison. According to Huffington Post, Tyler was 16 years old when he was convicted for allegedly shooting and killing a 13-year-old white high school student on a bus, during a racially charged segregation issues. Despite the fact that he was still a minor, he was sent to serve his time at the state’s toughest known prison – Angola which is known for racial mistreatment and harsh conditions. He then became known as the youngest person on death row. After his harsh sentencing, several “witnesses” came forward and recanted their testimony however he was never granted a new trial. Finally, after 8 years in solitary confinement and over 30 in general prison, Gary Tyler has been released. His release comes after courts decided to make retroactive a 2012 ruling that it is unconstitutional for juvenile offenders to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole. This gave prosecutors a legal avenue to reduce Tyler’s sentence with a guilty plea.
Tyler entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 21 years – just over half of the time served – and told he could go home Friday, according to a statement released on behalf of Tyler and his attorneys.
He is currently 57 years old.
They took 41 years away from this man.
Did he actually do it?
Are they going to pay him if he didn't?
