35 YEARS FOR STEALING TV
A man has been released from a North Carolina jail after serving 35 years for stealing a black and white television.
But Junior Allen's ordeal is not yet over - he will remain on probation for another five years, so he will not be entirely free until he is 70.
The black migrant worker from Georgia said: "I'm glad to be out.
"I've done too much time for what I did. I won't be truly happy until I see a sign that says I'm outside of North Carolina."
Mr Allen was 30 years old when he was jailed in 1970 for sneaking into the unlocked home of an 87-year-old woman and stealing her Motorola television set.
Judge Pou Bailey sentenced him to life - today, the crime would carry a maximum three-year sentence.
He was denied bail 25 times for bad behaviour and was finally given the chance to work for his freedom by cleaning floors and washing dishes at a restaurant.
Mr Allen will return to his home state and live with his sister under the supervision of a parole board.
Enoch Hasberry, who ran the work-release scheme, told the News & Observer newspaper: "He has been incarcerated for so long, I'm not sure he's going to make it out there."
He added: "For a black and white TV, how much do you have to pay? We've got an in-house joke here: How much time would he have gotten if he had stolen a colour TV?"
Sky
