Nation's oldest juvenile offender released after 68 years

[hamilton]

Joe Ligon, the nation’s oldest and longest-serving juvenile
offender, has been released from prison after serving 68 years
of a life sentence, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Ligon pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in
Philadelphia in 1953, when he was 15 years old. He was part of
an assault and robbery spree that killed two people but has
denied killing anyone himself and said he was scapegoated as an
out-of-towner. However, he was sentenced to life without parole.

A 2012 Supreme Court decision found sentences of life without
the possibility of parole for juveniles to be cruel and unusual
punishment, but Pennsylvania did not apply the ruling
retroactively until a subsequent 2016 decision by the high court
ordered states to do so.

In 2017, Ligon was resentenced to 35 years to life with
immediate eligibility for parole, but he didn't apply to be
released on principle.

“I like to be free,” Ligon said at the time. “With parole, you
got to see the parole people every so often. You can’t leave the
city without permission from parole. That’s part of freedom for
me.”

When Ligon refused parole, his attorney, Bradley Bridge of the
Defender Association of Philadelphia, argued his mandatory
maximum life sentence had been unconstitutional.

“The constitution requires that the entire sentence, both the
minimum and maximum terms imposed on a juvenile, be
individualized — and a one size fits all cannot pass
constitutional muster,” he wrote in federal court, according to
The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Anita Brody, senior U.S. district judge for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania, ordered Ligon be resentenced or released within
90 days in November, a period that expired Thursday.

“I’m looking at all the tall buildings,” Ligon said Thursday as
he took in the unfamiliar sights of the city upon release. “This
is all new to me. This never existed.”

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/538833-nations-
oldest-juvenile-offender-released-after-68-years?rl=1

[Michael Trew]

Joe Ligon, the nation’s oldest and longest-serving juvenile
offender, has been released from prison after serving 68 years
of a life sentence, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Ligon pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in
Philadelphia in 1953, when he was 15 years old. He was part of
an assault and robbery spree that killed two people but has
denied killing anyone himself and said he was scapegoated as an
out-of-towner. However, he was sentenced to life without parole.
A 2012 Supreme Court decision found sentences of life without
the possibility of parole for juveniles to be cruel and unusual
punishment, but Pennsylvania did not apply the ruling
retroactively until a subsequent 2016 decision by the high court
ordered states to do so.
In 2017, Ligon was resentenced to 35 years to life with
immediate eligibility for parole, but he didn't apply to be
released on principle.
“I like to be free,” Ligon said at the time. “With parole, you
got to see the parole people every so often. You can’t leave the
city without permission from parole. That’s part of freedom for
me.”
When Ligon refused parole, his attorney, Bradley Bridge of the
Defender Association of Philadelphia, argued his mandatory
maximum life sentence had been unconstitutional.
“The constitution requires that the entire sentence, both the
minimum and maximum terms imposed on a juvenile, be
individualized — and a one size fits all cannot pass
constitutional muster,” he wrote in federal court, according to
The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Anita Brody, senior U.S. district judge for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania, ordered Ligon be resentenced or released within
90 days in November, a period that expired Thursday.
“I’m looking at all the tall buildings,” Ligon said Thursday as
he took in the unfamiliar sights of the city upon release. “This
is all new to me. This never existed.”
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/538833-nations-
oldest-juvenile-offender-released-after-68-years?rl=1

I read about that in the Post Gazette! I think it was the other
Sunday... crazy stuff. What a shame that they locked him up all of
those years for no good reason.

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

Post by Michael Trew
I read about that in the Post Gazette! I think it was the other
Sunday... crazy stuff. What a shame that they locked him up all of
those years for no good reason.

Americans are so inferior. What a fucking shithole.

[M Kfivethousand]

I read about that in the Post Gazette! I think it was the other
Sunday... crazy stuff. What a shame that they locked him up all of
those years for no good reason.

Americans are so inferior. What a fucking shithole.

And, pray tell, who gives a shit about USA inferiority?

mk5000

The commodes are equipped with nozzles that squirt warm water to
shower one's behind. Such toilets are widely available in public
facilities, too, such as train stations and shops where bathrooms
often rival those of luxury hotels in cleanliness and state-of-

the-art contraptions-- Kumiko Makihara on japan's toilets

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

Post by Michael Trew
I read about that in the Post Gazette! I think it was the other
Sunday... crazy stuff. What a shame that they locked him up all of
those years for no good reason.

Americans are so inferior. What a fucking shithole.