05 May 2014

Would you help this man get out of prison? - updated


This petition is at Change.org:
Cornealious "Mike" Anderson is 36 years old, a married father of four, youth football coach, volunteer, homeowner and small business owner in St. Louis, Missouri.  In 1999, he was arrested and later convicted of participating in a robbery of a Burger King manager.  He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.  He was released on bail while his appeals were pending, and after he lost his appeals, the State of Missouri simply forgot about him.  They never told him to report to prison to serve his sentence.

When he was arrested, he was 22 years old, had no children, was not married, and did not own a home or a business.

From 1999 to 2013, he lived a law-abiding life, paid taxes, and worked to build a career as a carpenter. He never became a  fugitive, tried to change his identity, or flee from justice.  He had no further trouble with the law.  He stayed right in St. Louis.  He got married, had 4 children, built his own home in Missouri, and started several successful small businesses, including a contracting business.  He volunteered at his church and coached his son's youth football team.

In July, 2013, the State of Missouri suddenly realized, 13 years later, that Mike Anderson had never served the sentence, and that he was out on bail this entire time.  They raided his house with a SWAT team, and ripped him from his home without warning, hauled him off to prison, and told him he now had to serve 13 years in prison.

If he is required to serve the sentence, he will be 50 years old when he is released.  His kids will have grown up without a father, his wife will have had to raise 4 children alone, and they will lose their home and business - everything he had worked so hard to attain in the last 13 years of leading a normal life.

The victim of the robbery believes that Mike Anderson should not be forced to now serve a 13-year sentence, and believes the State of Missouri dropped the ball.  He has said that he believes it would serve no purpose in now incarcerating this man.
The full story, with extensive details, is at Riverfront Times.

I first heard the story as a podcast on This American Life.  It takes about 15 minutes, and I think is well worth a listen before you pass judgment.

I've signed the petition, as have 35,000 others.

Update:  He has been released.
Judge Terry Lynn Brown lauded Anderson's "exemplary" behavior during his 13 years of freedom before the arrest. "You've been a good father. You've been a good husband. You've been a good taxpaying citizen of the state of Missouri. "That leads me to believe that you are a good man and a changed man."

Anderson walked out of the courtroom with his wife and 3-year-old daughter on one arm and his mom on the other. Before being driven away to a freedom celebration at an undisclosed spot, Anderson told reporters he was "very happy. My faith has always been in God. I'm just so thankful. Thank God for everything."

The best place to follow the conclusion of the story is at the Riverfront Times (which was a favorite read of mine when I lived in St. Louis).

The podcast is still worth a listen; it's quite a story.

21 comments:

  1. It's a gross travesty of justice.and evidence of a flawed system that needs serious revision. I can't imagine the fascist mentality that thought raiding this guys home with an armed squad was wise. It's likely best not to be arrested for a robbery at a Burger King.

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  2. Where did you find the petition?

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    1. After I read the 2013 story in RFT, I did a search to see what his current status was and saw an updated RFT article with a link to the petition.

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    2. bobbie, I may have misunderstood your question. If you are asking how to access the petition, it's at the link for "Change.org" right below the photo.

      Delete
  3. I feel pity for him, but I can see some kind of purpose in sending him to jail. It serves as a message to future offenders: crime will not be left unpunished. If he should be left alone only because he had no further trouble with the law (self-corrected, and no longer a threat to society), then 90+ years old people should also be left alone and not dragged to court because of alleged war crimes, after seven decades(!) of law-abiding life (also self-corrected, and also no longer a threat to society). But this practice would bear a wrong message: commit any crime, no biggie. You can get away with it if you can dodge the punishment and be nice for awhile.
    The question is if the right message worth the price.

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    1. I totally disagree with you, but I don't have the energy to argue the points.

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    2. Yeah, easier to just close comments entirely.

      Wouldn't want to be publicly wrong.

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    3. Yeah, Stan. If you don't say to a fascist why he is wrong - which he wouldn't understand because of his condition - he is therefore by definition right.

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    4. I see no point in sending this man to jail, turning a taxpayer into a tax burden. If others feel a need to send a message to future offenders, perhaps this man's debt to society could be repaid in another way- perhaps so many court ordered hours of mentoring at risk youth. He turned his life around and could show others the way as well.

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    5. I agree with you totally- let's send this guy to jail- soon as we convict, sentence and imprison each and every bankster who got away stealing... billions.

      It'll send the right message.

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    6. How is this different from other criminals who are not found until later in life, as Charlie Brown suggests? On the surface, it seems like a pretty subjective judgement. Why is this person more deserving of pity or forgiveness than others? If lenience is not given to everyone, why not?

      I'm not sure I know, but those of you who see it without shades of gray (or just resort to calling people fascists), are kidding yourselves.

      As an aside, why do you close comments on threads that don't agree with the original article? If it's because users are being abusive, I get it, of course. On the kid gun article, I didn't see any rude comments, and you could have just deleted the abusive comments, right? In this thread, the only name-calling or rudeness was from Paulo, but he agrees with the post.

      Or do you only close comments when people disagree with you?






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    7. How is it different? Well let's see. For one, he made ZERO attempts to hide, change his name, move far away, etc. He paid his taxes, updated his drivers' license, and paid his taxes every year without skipping a beat. Whose fault was it that he was never put in jail? Don't think too hard...

      The main reason this person should never have to serve a day in prison is because the state failed to incarcerate this person within a reasonable amount of time. This in itself violates a citizen's 5th ammendment right to due process and fair procedure.

      A question for your - how is your sense of justice so blind?

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  4. I'll go sign the petition right now! Clearly, this man does not belong in prison!

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  5. He essentially accomplished what the time in prison is partly intended for...reform. I remember his story from NPR a few months back, and I recall something about now requiring him to serve his time hurts the city financially as well, with the costs of incarceration and now losing his tax contributions.
    It sucks he slipped through to begin with, but this was on the system, not him. He reformed himself, be it by a want to change or the fear of being caught. It's a travesty to now ruin what seems to be a healthy family unit.

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  6. He has apparently rehabilitated himself better than the justice system ever could. They ought to recruit him to design or run a "turn your life around" diversion program for young offenders.

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  7. When I first read this story, months ago, my opinion was that nothing would be gained by sending this man to jail. I still have that opinion. I think I would likely believe differently, had he harmed anyone, other than financially, but, as it stands, Just let him carry on with his life. I agree with the rest of the commenters who state that part of the reason for imprisonment is rehabilitation, and he certainly has done that, for himself.

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  8. I think the key is that the victim does not believe the robber needs to serve jail time. When the system screws up and the result is not in your favor, then too bad; even if you sue and win nothing can make it right. For the system to now say that the screw up not in their favor can be taken out on someone no longer deserving is just wrong.

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    1. "I think the key is that the victim does not believe the robber needs to serve jail time." Unfortunately, being victimized is often as culturally driven as being a victimizer. Some depressing number of rape victims feel like they deserved it too, or want to give him another chance.

      (I agree that he doesn't belong in prison though. Right conclusion, wrong reason.)

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  9. He's been released!
    http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-rules-13-year-sentence-man-never-served-complete-n97301

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    1. Thanks for the heads-up, anon. I hadn't seen that

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  10. What great news! Justice has been done. I think Miss Cellania said it best--he rehabilitated himself better than the justice system could have. I taught high school, and I know that kids do crazy things when they're young, that they would never do with some age and wisdom. That seems to be the case here. He's proved himself to be a fine, upstanding man, owns his own business, has a lovely wife and four adorable children, pays his taxes, etc. That sounds like an ideal citizen to me.

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