Story out of Hillsborough County, Florida:
A man who was sentenced to life in prison as a 13-year-old over 25 years ago is free thanks in part to the woman he shot.
In 1991, Ian Manuel was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences in Florida. Although he was only 13 when he committed his crime, he was charged as an adult for shooting then 28-year-old Debbie Baigrie in the face.
Manuel robbed Baigrie and her friend Danny Delrosal for change for a $20 bill as an initiation into a gang on the evening of July 27, 1990. He ended up shooting Baigrie through her jaw and out of her left cheek.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that juveniles who committed crimes where no one was killed may not be handed a life sentence without possibility of parole, Manuel’s sentence was reduced to 65 years in prison. Baigrie was present for that 2011 hearing and urged the judge to show him favour.
“He made a huge mistake but he’s not a bad person,” she said in an interview with People magazine in 2014. “I want him to have a life outside of prison.”
On Monday, Manuel, now 39, was released from prison after a judge in Hillsborough County ruled he was eligible for early release. His first meal as a free man was pizza with Baigrie. Cont. (Video)
Story from - Global News
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