Cornealious "Mike" Anderson committed robbery with a BB gun on Aug. 15, 1999. He was found guilty of armed robbery in 2000 and sentenced to serve 13 years...but he didn't.
Nor did he run or hide from the law. In fact, he remained in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. He inquired about serving his sentence and was told to wait for the court's instructions on reporting to prison (Officer.com, April 17, 2014) .
So he waited...and waited.
Because of a clerical error, he wasn't contacted for years which postponed his sentence. Anderson simply lived his life. He married and raised children. He worked and paid taxes. He updated his drivers license and ran three different businesses.
About the time Anderson should have completed his sentence, the Missouri Department of Corrections found the error and had a SWAT team pick him up at his home. Then he had to fight to be released.
“I never felt like a fugitive," Anderson said, "because a fugitive's someone that's running from the law. I never ran from the law. I was there" (UPI.com).
Tim Lohmar, the current prosecutor told TODAY, "I believe that if we allowed somebody to avoid an incarceration sentence, it's just a slippery slope’’ (UPI.com/TODAY.com).
Over 35,000 signatures on Change.org called for the state of Missouri to release Anderson. He served nearly a year in prison while waiting for his hearing.
"Mississippi County Associate Circuit Judge Terry Lynn Brown needed just a 10-minute hearing before ruling that he was giving Anderson credit for time served for all 4,794 days between his conviction and when he was arrested last year" (Officer.com, May 6, 2014).
On May 5, 2014, Mike Anderson walked out of court a truly free man.
Resources:
Hastings, Deborah, "Missouri man who never served sentence awaits prison term after leading crime-free life," NYdailynews.com, April 15, 2014.
Salter, Jim, "Man freed in Mo. delayed imprisonment case," Officer.com, May 6, 2014.
Salter, Jim, "Missouri convict was never told to report to prison," Officer.com, April 17, 2014.
Sevcik, JC, "Man who didn't serve prison sentence due to clerical error arrested 15 years later," UPI.com, April 15, 2014.
Stump, Scott, "Man who never served prison sentence on clerical error awaits fate," Today.com, April 15, 2014.
Nor did he run or hide from the law. In fact, he remained in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. He inquired about serving his sentence and was told to wait for the court's instructions on reporting to prison (Officer.com, April 17, 2014) .
So he waited...and waited.
Because of a clerical error, he wasn't contacted for years which postponed his sentence. Anderson simply lived his life. He married and raised children. He worked and paid taxes. He updated his drivers license and ran three different businesses.
About the time Anderson should have completed his sentence, the Missouri Department of Corrections found the error and had a SWAT team pick him up at his home. Then he had to fight to be released.
“I never felt like a fugitive," Anderson said, "because a fugitive's someone that's running from the law. I never ran from the law. I was there" (UPI.com).
Tim Lohmar, the current prosecutor told TODAY, "I believe that if we allowed somebody to avoid an incarceration sentence, it's just a slippery slope’’ (UPI.com/TODAY.com).
Over 35,000 signatures on Change.org called for the state of Missouri to release Anderson. He served nearly a year in prison while waiting for his hearing.
"Mississippi County Associate Circuit Judge Terry Lynn Brown needed just a 10-minute hearing before ruling that he was giving Anderson credit for time served for all 4,794 days between his conviction and when he was arrested last year" (Officer.com, May 6, 2014).
On May 5, 2014, Mike Anderson walked out of court a truly free man.
Resources:
Hastings, Deborah, "Missouri man who never served sentence awaits prison term after leading crime-free life," NYdailynews.com, April 15, 2014.
Salter, Jim, "Man freed in Mo. delayed imprisonment case," Officer.com, May 6, 2014.
Salter, Jim, "Missouri convict was never told to report to prison," Officer.com, April 17, 2014.
Sevcik, JC, "Man who didn't serve prison sentence due to clerical error arrested 15 years later," UPI.com, April 15, 2014.
Stump, Scott, "Man who never served prison sentence on clerical error awaits fate," Today.com, April 15, 2014.