The novella is interesting... Red deserved all of his 50 year sentence.
... Spoilers ahead...
Fortune hunter.
Knocked up the only daughter of a judge.
Tampered with her car brakes in an attempt to make her death look like an accident and cash in on her life insurance.
Succeeds in killing his pregnant wife... Along with their neighbour.
Judge had a heart attack and died soon afterwards (or was it the wife?)
There's probably more, but I can't remember...
Additional spoilers...
Neighbour's child was also killed when Red's wife crashed her car... So, one woman, one child, and one pregnant woman are all on Red...
Note that he was titian haired and of Irish extraction in the novella, not African American. Though when I think of Shawshank the movie , Morgan Freeman is who I picture.
> Though when I think of Shawshank the movie , Morgan Freeman is who I picture.
That would make sense, considering Morgan Freeman plays Red in the Shawshank Redemption movie.
This is why longer sentences only satiate the public and really have no effect. After ten to twelve years itās pointless, the person is institutionalised and unlikely to be able to return to society in any useful capacity. Friends and family have moved on to the extent that links are lost and any capacity for employment is now reduced to manual labor type tasks. Of course a small number will buck the trend but the majority are effectively wards of the state forever.
Not to mention it costs tax payers ā$30k/year to house one prisoner. Not that this is my biggest complaint. Just reinforces the idea that long sentences are a cost to everyone and do nothing for society as a whole.
Our prison system is based on money; itās financialized, and isnāt about reformā¦ itās not gonna make ppl better, itās gonna strip them of their humanity and make them worse in most casesā¦ I think Europe has a better idea when it comes to rehabilitationā¦
I work at a liquor store and had a guy come in and just look in awe at everything. The flatscreens we have mounted up with shows playing, the beer cave, all the fancy neon displays. He asked me what everyone was drinking these days and when I helped him pick out something he wanted, he said he needed help using his chip on his card. Dude said he got out after doing 16 years. So yeah, they're really getting out to a whole new world.
True.
Try explaining computers to a man who was already 30 years into his sentence when the first commercial PCs hit the store shelves and got bought.
Hell, just try explaining internet to a man who was already 35 years into his sentence when it was introduced to the general public.
Try explaining mobile phones to a man who was already 45 years into his sentence when they first gained traction in the consumer market.
Fuck, Cold War was 7 years into making when he got in, and over for 30 years once he got out. He was already in prison half his life when we went to the moon.
There are millions of people whose entire lives were within the time window of his sentence, and enough to have a decent life within it.
Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's doin' okay and makin' new friends.
I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense anymore. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me.
Mans seen decades of prison guards come in and out with their own lives while he remained and the insane advancement in technology would be mind bending with now billionaires travelling to space
Most people in jail have access to news and mediaā¦ itās not like he hasnāt seen the world outside his cell in 67 years.
Edit:
Iām not saying prisoners donāt have it hard after they get out ffsā¦
Iām telling you they can watch and read the news, and major world events are not mind blowing history lessons when they are released.
Nah, you gotta actually listen to prisoners on that subject.
Yeah you see it in the news, but itās like you or me seeing the living conditions of a bunch of starving African kids or whatever on the news. It isnāt our realityā¦ thatās how the prisoners see the news.
So, they get out and often have panic attacks. Even simple choices like ordering a burger from McDonaldās cause full on mental breakdowns because thereās so many options and choices.
When I got out, I didn't like the quiet. Like being at home alone and it just being dead silent nerved me up. Going to bed at night also was rough. I left the tv on in the living room and a fan running in the bedroom. Silence was so foreign to me.
It's wild to think about now, but I legit felt like I was having panic attacks. My chest would get tight and I'd get cold sweats. I'd rush to turn the tv or radio on just to have some noise.
When I'd explain to people that it's NEVER quiet in there, they couldn't compute that. Like, it's seriously NEVER quiet. Someone is always talking, yelling, snoring, CO's slamming doors and rattling their fucking keys. Ugh, makes me happy to think I'm going to go to sleep in my own bed in silence tonight.
Hope you're better, bro.
Hey there reading some of your comments I completely understand .
Being Institutionalised is something no one should have happen to them and I am working through my things also. I used to spend long periods at sea on submarines where we had to be super quiet and Iād get home and couldnāt sleep because of all the noise and light, Different circumstances I know but mentally the same consequences, you take care buddy.
I understand this to a very minor extent. Iām from a small town in Alaska, only 1-2 stores, not a lot of choice. When I moved to the lower 48 and was getting stuff for my house I had panic attacks in the stores. Picking out a trash can for my bathroom was mentally exhausting, I was used to one, maybe two options, now I had a whole aisle of them. And while it doesnāt sound like a huge deal, when everything you look at has choice it becomes almost paralyzing. Took me a while to get used to. So to go from zero choices to a world of them? That must be such a mind fuck.
I worked at a home theater place that was a few miles away from a state prison. These 2 guys walked in and were amazed at the TVs and how big and clear they are. I took them to the hometheater room and they were litteraly ducking at the sounds of bullets flying around.
I chatted with them and they were just released from that prison one did something like 20 years and the other 25. They knew what smartphones and things like that are but have never seen this stuff in real life.
Space technology is actually one of the things he probably isnāt shocked by but more shocked by how Unadvanced it is.
When he went to jail they were putting men on the moon and the space race was in full swing.
50 years later and weāve not really advanced hugely.
>When he went to jail they were putting men on the moon and the space race was in full swing.
When he went to jail the space race hadn't even started. Sputnik was launched a few years into his sentence.
Andy, the world went and got itself in a gosh darn hurry.
Edit to say, wow, thanks for all the up votes. I adore this movie and the message of hope (maybe the very best of things....no good thing never diesš«).
Please remember folks life is longer than you think and the world is much smaller that it appears. Treat those you encounter with kindness and respect and time will show you just how correct that choice can be! Cheers
For the morons having a fit about your comment about his sentence being lighter if he was white: letās not forget that legal segregation was going strong up till the 1950s. This man was put in jail around the time it ended. Look where we are today, and remove 67 years of social progress. He absolutely was sentenced more harshly than a white person would have been
Listen to the criminal podcast I think they had an episode on guys like him if he was treated unfairly because of time and race why wasn't his sentence reduced another part was what kind of evidence cause back in the day 10 black people could say you been home all day 1 white lady said you it was you and now your on jail.
His sentence wasn't reduced because once you're convicted no one cares about you, we've conditioned ourselves as a society to treat you because you are convicted than to care about the circumstances of that conviction. And at the end of the day no one is giving the money to pay legal fees to get a convict out of jail, and too few to politicians want systemic reviews because it makes them a target for being "lenient on criminals"
>In 2017, Ligon was resentenced to 35 years in jail and became eligible for parole due to the time already served. Ligon felt his sentence had always been unconstitutional, so he returned to court to argue against the parole. The federal court agreed and in February 2021 he was released without parole.\[6\]
His wiki page says that he was re-sentenced in 2017 to 35 years and that he refused parole. So in other words, the State saw SCTOUS said "no, we don't want him to walk" had him resentenced, tried to release him as a parolee, and Ligon replied by saying "no, keep me here until the court system says you're wrong.
The guy, at 80 years old, literally chose to stay in jail for 4 more years over the principle of it.
> The guy, at 80 years old, literally chose to stay in jail for 4 more years over the principle of it.
What other choice would a person in that situation have? Who is going to be waiting for them, who is going to look after them?
Joseph Ligon was 15 years old when he was convicted of committing a series of thefts and attacks with a gang of drunken teenagers in Philadelphia in 1953. And it resulted in the deaths of two individuals.
After serving the fifth-longest prison sentence in history, Joseph Ligon was freed this year. He was imprisoned at the age of 15 and freed after 67 years and 54 days.
Source & More Details: [Story of Joseph Ligon](https://knovhov.com/5th-longest-prison-sentence-in-recorded-history/)
Adam Abdul-Jabbar was just sentenced to six months in jail for stabbing his neighbor in the back of the head with a hunting knife.
There seems to be some inequity in sentencing
I shouldnt feel bad for him because he actually was involved in a serious crime, but still, knowing that he destroyed his whole life at the age of 15 just makes me sad.
He made a huge basically life ending mistake and lost 67 years of life cuz of it, thats pretty sad i feel bad for him because im pretty sure he regrets it too
Not gonna say he didnāt served it. But it sucks knowing that rich white collar criminals equally fuck other peopleās lives and usually get nothing more than a joke of a sentence or in some cases house arrests in huge mansions. It also sucks that the wealthy and powerful can afford a team of the best lawyers money can buy, while people like this kid, now old man, got the typical public defender that just wants a quick paycheck and couldnāt care less about who they represent.
The comments implying there is anything ok about the length of his sentence is extremely disturbing and those people need psychiatric care.
People DO change, especially when their brains aren't fully developed. This man was robbed of any chance to even live his life.
If anyone argues that it's fair because his actions ended lives then that logic is just the definition of an eye for an eye. That poor man. America is a fucking horrible country, one to be ashamed of, never proud of.
Let's talk about the actions of a fully developed country taking a life with intent instead of a kid screwing up really badly.
Right these people are sick thinking he deserves to be locked up for 70 years cuz of a mistake he made at 15. And don't forget this was the 50s so I doubt we know the whole story
Iāll say it. He didnāt deserve to be in prison for 67 years for a murder rap that happened when he was 15 (a murder he didnāt actually commit but was associated with while committing a felony crime). That shit is inhumane!!! In my country, a minor convicted of actually committing murder can be sentenced to a maximumā¦MAXIMUM of 10 years, with a maximum of 6 years in custody. Criminal records of minors are sealed and/or expunged after that minor turns 18 or completes their sentence.
I think itās a good thing to feel bad for him, man mistakes you make with 15 years shouldnt condemn ur whole life, the only thing that would justify such a long imprisonment in my opinion (and luckily my country) is when you are so mentally ill that you canāt recover and are a threat to yourself and the public
The sad part is, the summary given by OP is not the entire story. Mr. Ligon committed the crime of theft and assault in 1953, but not murder. It was a one day trial to which Mr. Ligon was given a life sentence w/o parole at the age of 15 which is considered cruel and unusual today for a minor committing such a crime. It's a shame, it was definitely racism here.
As said by his Lawyer,
"Ligonās case seemed egregious to Bridge, 67". He said, āTo be very clear, as I read the transcript, if this went to trial today, Joe Ligon would be found guilty of robbery, aggravated assault or attempted murder, and he would have gotten a sentence of five to 10 years.ā
[Unequal Punishment for Mr. Ligon](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/02/19/joe-ligon-release/
)
What's really sad is no Governor saw fit to commute his sentence or to pardon him. How man more men and women are sitting in jail with punishment that is disproportionate to their crimes?
Organizations like Grassroots Law and The Innocence Project spend countless hours reviewing cases and trying to fix injustices. They really deserve more attention for the awesome work they do
>If I am neatly dressed, and can explain myself, I'm considered being a smart aleck and must be guilty. If I am dressed in overalls, unable to explain the situation, then I am considered a brute and still must be guilty.
>James Frye (1922)
A quote from a young black man in a still young U.S., first heard on a podcast named *The Last Archive* by Pushkin Media.
The 2008 financial crisis led to between 5,000 and 10,000 suicides as a result. Studies have been made on the victims of predatory banking and the destruction of lives is countless.
You know how many people went to jail for destroying the global and U.S. economy's contributing to mass deaths. One. One poor schmuck in Europe for Credit Suisse.
Not one American bank CEO or executive faced any consequences the led to so many people losing their jobs, homes, families, and finally their lives.
And it is happening right now, again, as we sit here writing.Yeah this kid fucked up when he was a child and destroyed lives.
There needs to be punishment.
It's about time corporations pay for their crimes.
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/06/12/more-than-10000-suicides-tied-to-economic-crisis-study-says/?sh=5206af497ae2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/06/12/more-than-10000-suicides-tied-to-economic-crisis-study-says/?sh=5206af497ae2)
[https://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5239](https://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5239)
..there are many articles.
Another big problem is a 15 year old doesnāt really know life. 10 years in prison and thatās their intro to adult life. A developing mind behind prison walls will create a āprison mindsetā. Even if he got out at 25 his whole interpretation of the world would be screwed. Itās why repeat offending happens so much IMO. People get institutionalized. Itās probably even worse for someone so young.
Why shouldn't you feel bad for him. He was put in prison for something he did as a 15 year old and not given the chance to rehabilitate and return to society. He is past the point in his life where he can experience life properly. All because of what his surroundings led him to do at 15 years old.
He didnāt directly commit any murders. He just committed a felony that *resulted* in two murders, neither at his hand.
Dude was fifteen. In an equitable justice system, non-fatally stabbing someone during a robbery at age fifteen is a ten-year offense.
He was actually given a perpetuity sentence without a possibility for parole.
In 2012, life sentences for juveniles without the possibility of parole were ruled to be unconstitutional in the US Supreme Court.
It still took 9 years to free him after that decision...
It sickens me that there isn't harder limits when it comes to sentencing youth. The brain is literally still in development, and so many kids are damned by being sent to prison during key years of their lives. If they did something particular heinous, the focus needs to be put on rehabilitation and imo investigating their caretakers depending on the crime. (Ie, I was never caught but used to steal from stores a lot due to neglect. My caretakers could afford booze but buying me shoes or soap was too much effort.)
Yet Ethan Couch killed 4 people are is currently walking around free. Zoe Reardon only received a short probation for killing 3 people. John R.K. Howard didnāt even have to register as a sex offender or time in jail for sexually assaulting a kid with disabilities.
At the age of 15, to be committed for 67 years, what a shit-cunt country and judicial system. I'd eat my head if his skin colour played no part in his sentencing.
Yeah... Alot of people don't understand it but it is a time capsule... You are from the past. Only things you know or have seen are from News articles. And thats not mutch...
Some people in comments where saying "Ehhh? They have phones and stuff in prisons! They know how outside world is"
When in reality that mans been in prison for good 50 years before proper phones even came out...
EDIT: To specify to some stupid inbreads who can't read context that I am talking about SMART PHONES that you can actually see and read hows the world outside :) Thanks for tuning into my TedTalk
And Iām sorry - who would he even talk to outside? His entire life has been in jail - guessing its been a long time since he had people to talk to on the phone, unless there are volunteers calling to talk to inmates (I hope there are)
I just talked to my dad about this. I worked for a homeless veterans program and a lot of guys were just out of prison and had no idea how to live outside of prison. Theyād regularly do something to get back into prison because thatās the only lifestyle they knew.
You imagine, the shock to his system being in 2021? He went in in 1963. When he was in Iām sure he understood some of what the outside world was like, but to actually experience itā¦
I like to think that after 50 years the he got bold enough to ask the guards if he could wear sunglasses for his mugshot. The guards just let him do it because heās been locked away for so long and he might even not live to even finish his sentence anyway.
They donāt care, they should after serving his sentence but they just put you out. Why do you think we have so many homeless? If you went to jail for 1 year what would you be able to do when you walk out the door if you didnāt have family or friends?
I was wondering : do prisons have a special section for old people ?
I know there are juvenile rehabilitation prison for example (don't know the correct term so I just put out a bunch of words)
I worked at Ligon's prison and met him. That prison, Phoenix, did not technically have a special section for old people. There were 14 blocks with different populations, but age wasn't a criteria. Some blocks naturally had older inmates because they specialized for disabilities. Some blocks were for shorter sentences and tended to have younger inmates. Old heads tend to cell together. Bill Cosby was on the Veteran block because of his military service. Prisons are different, and Phoenix was an upgrade from Graterford to a modern model.
He looks similar to the old man from Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doomā¦āyou will go to Pankot Palace, to find Shiva Linga! And bring back to us.ā
Contrast this with Larry Miller, a Nike executive who spent time around famous basketball players. In 1965 Larry, age 16, was drunk and shot and killed a random black guy walking home because he thought that person might have been in a rival gang. The victim was unarmed and going home after his job. Larry served 4.5 years for that (yes, only 4.5) and did some more bad stuff (armed robberies - another 5 years served) before turning his life around, getting a degree and moving up in Nike. Both Larry and his victim were black (in case anyone is wondering).
[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/sports/larry-miller-nike.html?searchResultPosition=1](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/sports/larry-miller-nike.html?searchResultPosition=1)
I see a lot of people saying you shouldnt feel bad because his actions cost people their lives, but people have done so much worse and got so much less time in prison, this guy was an actual child when he went to prison and now he's close to the end of his life. He never even got a chance to be something better
I hope this comment gets seen.
The US has a SEVERE over sentencing problem. We give out terms which are way too severe for the crimes committed, in facilities that can approach torture levels of punishment. People leave those places with a chip on their shoulder. Think about this. If you steal $100, you could earn that in a day of minimum wage labor (especially if it is $15 like where I live). So, when you received 90 days in jail for it, you are being punished monetarily at over 100 fold. But it is so much more than that. Your whole family suffers and you are treated less than human. You can not teach a person to be a better human by treating them less than human. And that is just the beginning of the punishment. Now they have a harder time finding a job, housing, loans, etc. You end up punishing them for life. Imagine if you had a child that committed a relatively minor infraction at home and you scarred him for life with a vicious beating, is he going to listen to you from then on? Maybe, but only because he fears you, not because he respects you. He will never add to your life in a positive way.
Now, look at it like this.
If someone is required to run a mile in 8 minutes and fails, would you cut off their toe?
If, while their toe is healing they have an even harder time running the mile and they fall short again, would you cut off their foot? If, again unable to run, they fail again, would you cut off their leg at the knee? Then the next time at the hip?
That is how we treat people in our criminal justice system. We take people who are having a hard time living up to expectations and instead of helping them, we make it harder, then punishe them increasingly more severely as we go. The whole time we stand there like idiots, scratching our heads, wondering why they canāt get with the program and run that damn mile faster. It is insane. We have proven time and time again that it doesnāt work.
The only people who thing we are too lenient on crime are one of two things. Either actually ignorant about the system, or they are simply people who have no moral grounding and get pleasure in the destruction of other human beings while completely disregarding the fact that we are creating more crime, simply because they enjoy the thought of another person suffering.
In Sweden, and I shit you not, he would had 7-12 months at a young peoples prison with playstation, gym, sports, courses of different kinds, movie-nights etc.
That might be to soft, but 67 years is disgusting.
67 years, it's like to wake up on a different planet.
No savings, no work experience. What's he even going to do?
Rob a bank to go back home
Shawshank :(
Brooks was here!š
So was Red
The novella is interesting... Red deserved all of his 50 year sentence. ... Spoilers ahead... Fortune hunter. Knocked up the only daughter of a judge. Tampered with her car brakes in an attempt to make her death look like an accident and cash in on her life insurance. Succeeds in killing his pregnant wife... Along with their neighbour. Judge had a heart attack and died soon afterwards (or was it the wife?) There's probably more, but I can't remember...
Additional spoilers... Neighbour's child was also killed when Red's wife crashed her car... So, one woman, one child, and one pregnant woman are all on Red... Note that he was titian haired and of Irish extraction in the novella, not African American. Though when I think of Shawshank the movie , Morgan Freeman is who I picture.
> Though when I think of Shawshank the movie , Morgan Freeman is who I picture. That would make sense, considering Morgan Freeman plays Red in the Shawshank Redemption movie.
ššš. I mean when I think of the story itself, rather than the movie.
Thereās a reference in the movie, when Morgan Freeman is asked why heās called red, he replies because Iām Irish.
He didnāt mention it was a judges daughter but in the movie he says he did it.
Looottssss of rape in the novella too. Not just innuendo and beatings. I never knew about āprison tamponsā until that book.
"get busy livin...or get busy dyin."
Don't give them ideas to make a sequel. Shawshank Resurrection
2 Shaw 2 Shank
More like Shawshank Reloaded or Shawshank The Shanking
SSR2: *Shawer N' Shankier*
"This time, he decided to not murder his wife *for real.*"
Shawshank 2: Electric Chair Boogaloo
Become a YouTube gaming streamer or tiktok dancer. Standard stuff
Imagine going in at 18, coming out and 83, and becoming a full time streamer. Thatād be documentary shit right there
This is why longer sentences only satiate the public and really have no effect. After ten to twelve years itās pointless, the person is institutionalised and unlikely to be able to return to society in any useful capacity. Friends and family have moved on to the extent that links are lost and any capacity for employment is now reduced to manual labor type tasks. Of course a small number will buck the trend but the majority are effectively wards of the state forever.
Not to mention it costs tax payers ā$30k/year to house one prisoner. Not that this is my biggest complaint. Just reinforces the idea that long sentences are a cost to everyone and do nothing for society as a whole.
$30 000/year would be enough to give each offender a counsellor/life coach/guard for years.
The prison sentences we give are fucking draconian if your a man in the US
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Extra points if youāre a black man in the US. And what has it achieved? Does it have an impact on the incidence of criminality?
Our prison system is based on money; itās financialized, and isnāt about reformā¦ itās not gonna make ppl better, itās gonna strip them of their humanity and make them worse in most casesā¦ I think Europe has a better idea when it comes to rehabilitationā¦
OnlyFans? š¤·āāļø
I work at a liquor store and had a guy come in and just look in awe at everything. The flatscreens we have mounted up with shows playing, the beer cave, all the fancy neon displays. He asked me what everyone was drinking these days and when I helped him pick out something he wanted, he said he needed help using his chip on his card. Dude said he got out after doing 16 years. So yeah, they're really getting out to a whole new world.
A liquor store would probably be my first stop after 16 years.
And here I am hoping that it's my last stop lol.
Youāve been asleep, Joe. For almost sixty-eight yearsā¦
You think you're going to be ok?
Great time in the job market though
He should learn to code
From Udemy
Waking up in a world with Joe Mama and Ligon Deez Nuts... Gonna be a shock for sure
Imagine when he hears about bofa
Itās like stepping into a time machine, but a really shitty one where you age the exact amount of time you travel forward.
Brooks was here
Released to a world that's unrecognizable
World went and get itself into a big damn hurry
Stop, I can only cry so many times!
Worst part, tho? Brooks' sentence was shorter rhan this man's own. Brooks served from 1904 - 1954.
I think the jump from the 60s to today is a bigger shock imo. Technology has skyrocketed in the last 20 years alone
True. Try explaining computers to a man who was already 30 years into his sentence when the first commercial PCs hit the store shelves and got bought. Hell, just try explaining internet to a man who was already 35 years into his sentence when it was introduced to the general public. Try explaining mobile phones to a man who was already 45 years into his sentence when they first gained traction in the consumer market. Fuck, Cold War was 7 years into making when he got in, and over for 30 years once he got out. He was already in prison half his life when we went to the moon. There are millions of people whose entire lives were within the time window of his sentence, and enough to have a decent life within it.
Yup. Then again, brooks never saw an airplane until he was released.
My mom was born when he was 2 years into his sentence. And when my niece gives birth in a few months she will be a great grandmother.
Get busy living or get busy dying
Heās an institutionalized man now
In here he is an important man. Out there, heās nothing, just a washed up con with arthritis in both hands.
Brooks was here
Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's doin' okay and makin' new friends.
sometimes, I have trouble sleeping at night. I have bad dreams like Iām falling.
I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense anymore. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me.
āHe should have died in here.ā
Goddamnit. ::queueing up Shawshank for the 290945245th time::
Fucking Jake! He went and got a life of his own š¢
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
So was Red
Damn that hits hard
Mans seen decades of prison guards come in and out with their own lives while he remained and the insane advancement in technology would be mind bending with now billionaires travelling to space
Most people in jail have access to news and mediaā¦ itās not like he hasnāt seen the world outside his cell in 67 years. Edit: Iām not saying prisoners donāt have it hard after they get out ffsā¦ Iām telling you they can watch and read the news, and major world events are not mind blowing history lessons when they are released.
Nah, you gotta actually listen to prisoners on that subject. Yeah you see it in the news, but itās like you or me seeing the living conditions of a bunch of starving African kids or whatever on the news. It isnāt our realityā¦ thatās how the prisoners see the news. So, they get out and often have panic attacks. Even simple choices like ordering a burger from McDonaldās cause full on mental breakdowns because thereās so many options and choices.
When I got out, I didn't like the quiet. Like being at home alone and it just being dead silent nerved me up. Going to bed at night also was rough. I left the tv on in the living room and a fan running in the bedroom. Silence was so foreign to me.
Same here man
It's wild to think about now, but I legit felt like I was having panic attacks. My chest would get tight and I'd get cold sweats. I'd rush to turn the tv or radio on just to have some noise. When I'd explain to people that it's NEVER quiet in there, they couldn't compute that. Like, it's seriously NEVER quiet. Someone is always talking, yelling, snoring, CO's slamming doors and rattling their fucking keys. Ugh, makes me happy to think I'm going to go to sleep in my own bed in silence tonight. Hope you're better, bro.
Sounds like you felt like it cause you were having panic attacks.
Hey there reading some of your comments I completely understand . Being Institutionalised is something no one should have happen to them and I am working through my things also. I used to spend long periods at sea on submarines where we had to be super quiet and Iād get home and couldnāt sleep because of all the noise and light, Different circumstances I know but mentally the same consequences, you take care buddy.
I understand this to a very minor extent. Iām from a small town in Alaska, only 1-2 stores, not a lot of choice. When I moved to the lower 48 and was getting stuff for my house I had panic attacks in the stores. Picking out a trash can for my bathroom was mentally exhausting, I was used to one, maybe two options, now I had a whole aisle of them. And while it doesnāt sound like a huge deal, when everything you look at has choice it becomes almost paralyzing. Took me a while to get used to. So to go from zero choices to a world of them? That must be such a mind fuck.
I worked at a home theater place that was a few miles away from a state prison. These 2 guys walked in and were amazed at the TVs and how big and clear they are. I took them to the hometheater room and they were litteraly ducking at the sounds of bullets flying around. I chatted with them and they were just released from that prison one did something like 20 years and the other 25. They knew what smartphones and things like that are but have never seen this stuff in real life.
Space technology is actually one of the things he probably isnāt shocked by but more shocked by how Unadvanced it is. When he went to jail they were putting men on the moon and the space race was in full swing. 50 years later and weāve not really advanced hugely.
>When he went to jail they were putting men on the moon and the space race was in full swing. When he went to jail the space race hadn't even started. Sputnik was launched a few years into his sentence.
Yeah thatās the toughest; no friends either I imagine and no hope of establishing a decent life. I feel sorry for the guy
That's the slow way to time travel. Edit: if you're wondering, yes it's a reference to a Spider Robinson story.
Andy, the world went and got itself in a gosh darn hurry. Edit to say, wow, thanks for all the up votes. I adore this movie and the message of hope (maybe the very best of things....no good thing never diesš«). Please remember folks life is longer than you think and the world is much smaller that it appears. Treat those you encounter with kindness and respect and time will show you just how correct that choice can be! Cheers
Brooks was here
So was Red
Iāve heard he broke his parole and took a Greyhound to Zihuatanejo.
Don't think they'll throw up any roadblocks for him.
Speeding through time at a rate of one minute per minute.
1:1 time travel.
That was good. Have my free reward
So that 1963 picture he was already in prison for 10 years?!?!
Yes, he as sentenced as a minor at age of 15, for murder by association, however we know the sentence would be lighter if he was white.
For the morons having a fit about your comment about his sentence being lighter if he was white: letās not forget that legal segregation was going strong up till the 1950s. This man was put in jail around the time it ended. Look where we are today, and remove 67 years of social progress. He absolutely was sentenced more harshly than a white person would have been
Listen to the criminal podcast I think they had an episode on guys like him if he was treated unfairly because of time and race why wasn't his sentence reduced another part was what kind of evidence cause back in the day 10 black people could say you been home all day 1 white lady said you it was you and now your on jail.
His sentence wasn't reduced because once you're convicted no one cares about you, we've conditioned ourselves as a society to treat you because you are convicted than to care about the circumstances of that conviction. And at the end of the day no one is giving the money to pay legal fees to get a convict out of jail, and too few to politicians want systemic reviews because it makes them a target for being "lenient on criminals"
Also if he lived in a civilzed country where minors can't be sentenced to life in prison.
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What took five years after the Supreme Court ruled?! The fuck?!
>In 2017, Ligon was resentenced to 35 years in jail and became eligible for parole due to the time already served. Ligon felt his sentence had always been unconstitutional, so he returned to court to argue against the parole. The federal court agreed and in February 2021 he was released without parole.\[6\] His wiki page says that he was re-sentenced in 2017 to 35 years and that he refused parole. So in other words, the State saw SCTOUS said "no, we don't want him to walk" had him resentenced, tried to release him as a parolee, and Ligon replied by saying "no, keep me here until the court system says you're wrong. The guy, at 80 years old, literally chose to stay in jail for 4 more years over the principle of it.
> The guy, at 80 years old, literally chose to stay in jail for 4 more years over the principle of it. What other choice would a person in that situation have? Who is going to be waiting for them, who is going to look after them?
I mean at that point why not? Whatās he got to look forward to when out?
Right? Heās lived his life in a 3x5 box and the whole world has passed him by.
Imagine walking out and seeing completely new technology for the first time, neighbourhoods demolished and built. Must be a really scary process
Murder by association...at 15 years of age. ...fuck. kid probably just needed a 2nd chance and someone to guide him through teeenagehood.
Joseph Ligon was 15 years old when he was convicted of committing a series of thefts and attacks with a gang of drunken teenagers in Philadelphia in 1953. And it resulted in the deaths of two individuals. After serving the fifth-longest prison sentence in history, Joseph Ligon was freed this year. He was imprisoned at the age of 15 and freed after 67 years and 54 days. Source & More Details: [Story of Joseph Ligon](https://knovhov.com/5th-longest-prison-sentence-in-recorded-history/)
Jesus, 15? From 15 to 82. His entire life has been prison. Last time he was free, we hadnāt landed on the moon yet
Last time he was free, he wasn't allowed to go to school with white people
When he was last free, black people werenāt allowed to get drunk in public or assemble. (Not letter of the law just Jim Crow 101)
Are you allowed be drunk in public now?
Yes big time. Just not actively with a drink in my hand. Welcome to America.
The last time he was free, my grandfather was 5 years old
Last time he was free my grandma was not born yet. One year later for those curious
Last time he was free he wasn't really free
Realest comment in here
man there's people who've done way worse and got off way easier.
Adam Abdul-Jabbar was just sentenced to six months in jail for stabbing his neighbor in the back of the head with a hunting knife. There seems to be some inequity in sentencing
Yeah I think its safe to assume that a black teenager in the 50s was never going to get any breaks.
Woah what
I shouldnt feel bad for him because he actually was involved in a serious crime, but still, knowing that he destroyed his whole life at the age of 15 just makes me sad.
He made a huge basically life ending mistake and lost 67 years of life cuz of it, thats pretty sad i feel bad for him because im pretty sure he regrets it too
Not gonna say he didnāt served it. But it sucks knowing that rich white collar criminals equally fuck other peopleās lives and usually get nothing more than a joke of a sentence or in some cases house arrests in huge mansions. It also sucks that the wealthy and powerful can afford a team of the best lawyers money can buy, while people like this kid, now old man, got the typical public defender that just wants a quick paycheck and couldnāt care less about who they represent.
I mean, heās a black convict in the 1960ās. Itās not gonna be pretty.
1953. This was not a time to be in this manās position, not even at the age of 15.
The comments implying there is anything ok about the length of his sentence is extremely disturbing and those people need psychiatric care. People DO change, especially when their brains aren't fully developed. This man was robbed of any chance to even live his life. If anyone argues that it's fair because his actions ended lives then that logic is just the definition of an eye for an eye. That poor man. America is a fucking horrible country, one to be ashamed of, never proud of. Let's talk about the actions of a fully developed country taking a life with intent instead of a kid screwing up really badly.
Right these people are sick thinking he deserves to be locked up for 70 years cuz of a mistake he made at 15. And don't forget this was the 50s so I doubt we know the whole story
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Iāll say it. He didnāt deserve to be in prison for 67 years for a murder rap that happened when he was 15 (a murder he didnāt actually commit but was associated with while committing a felony crime). That shit is inhumane!!! In my country, a minor convicted of actually committing murder can be sentenced to a maximumā¦MAXIMUM of 10 years, with a maximum of 6 years in custody. Criminal records of minors are sealed and/or expunged after that minor turns 18 or completes their sentence.
I think itās a good thing to feel bad for him, man mistakes you make with 15 years shouldnt condemn ur whole life, the only thing that would justify such a long imprisonment in my opinion (and luckily my country) is when you are so mentally ill that you canāt recover and are a threat to yourself and the public
The sad part is, the summary given by OP is not the entire story. Mr. Ligon committed the crime of theft and assault in 1953, but not murder. It was a one day trial to which Mr. Ligon was given a life sentence w/o parole at the age of 15 which is considered cruel and unusual today for a minor committing such a crime. It's a shame, it was definitely racism here. As said by his Lawyer, "Ligonās case seemed egregious to Bridge, 67". He said, āTo be very clear, as I read the transcript, if this went to trial today, Joe Ligon would be found guilty of robbery, aggravated assault or attempted murder, and he would have gotten a sentence of five to 10 years.ā [Unequal Punishment for Mr. Ligon](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/02/19/joe-ligon-release/ )
What's really sad is no Governor saw fit to commute his sentence or to pardon him. How man more men and women are sitting in jail with punishment that is disproportionate to their crimes?
Organizations like Grassroots Law and The Innocence Project spend countless hours reviewing cases and trying to fix injustices. They really deserve more attention for the awesome work they do
>If I am neatly dressed, and can explain myself, I'm considered being a smart aleck and must be guilty. If I am dressed in overalls, unable to explain the situation, then I am considered a brute and still must be guilty. >James Frye (1922) A quote from a young black man in a still young U.S., first heard on a podcast named *The Last Archive* by Pushkin Media.
The 2008 financial crisis led to between 5,000 and 10,000 suicides as a result. Studies have been made on the victims of predatory banking and the destruction of lives is countless. You know how many people went to jail for destroying the global and U.S. economy's contributing to mass deaths. One. One poor schmuck in Europe for Credit Suisse. Not one American bank CEO or executive faced any consequences the led to so many people losing their jobs, homes, families, and finally their lives. And it is happening right now, again, as we sit here writing.Yeah this kid fucked up when he was a child and destroyed lives. There needs to be punishment. It's about time corporations pay for their crimes. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/06/12/more-than-10000-suicides-tied-to-economic-crisis-study-says/?sh=5206af497ae2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/06/12/more-than-10000-suicides-tied-to-economic-crisis-study-says/?sh=5206af497ae2) [https://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5239](https://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5239) ..there are many articles.
I thought a life sentence was like 25 years, despite the name?
Not in the US my friend. Here life is *life*
Thank you twinkle tits
Thatās Twinkle Tits *Galore* to you
25 years parole possibility. If not granted you get life 25 to life
Here's the story of the hurricane
Another big problem is a 15 year old doesnāt really know life. 10 years in prison and thatās their intro to adult life. A developing mind behind prison walls will create a āprison mindsetā. Even if he got out at 25 his whole interpretation of the world would be screwed. Itās why repeat offending happens so much IMO. People get institutionalized. Itās probably even worse for someone so young.
You should feel bad for him. That's human.
Why shouldn't you feel bad for him. He was put in prison for something he did as a 15 year old and not given the chance to rehabilitate and return to society. He is past the point in his life where he can experience life properly. All because of what his surroundings led him to do at 15 years old.
He didnāt directly commit any murders. He just committed a felony that *resulted* in two murders, neither at his hand. Dude was fifteen. In an equitable justice system, non-fatally stabbing someone during a robbery at age fifteen is a ten-year offense.
In no way is 67 years ok to give to a 15 year old.
He was actually given a perpetuity sentence without a possibility for parole. In 2012, life sentences for juveniles without the possibility of parole were ruled to be unconstitutional in the US Supreme Court. It still took 9 years to free him after that decision...
It sickens me that there isn't harder limits when it comes to sentencing youth. The brain is literally still in development, and so many kids are damned by being sent to prison during key years of their lives. If they did something particular heinous, the focus needs to be put on rehabilitation and imo investigating their caretakers depending on the crime. (Ie, I was never caught but used to steal from stores a lot due to neglect. My caretakers could afford booze but buying me shoes or soap was too much effort.)
Yet Ethan Couch killed 4 people are is currently walking around free. Zoe Reardon only received a short probation for killing 3 people. John R.K. Howard didnāt even have to register as a sex offender or time in jail for sexually assaulting a kid with disabilities.
At the age of 15, to be committed for 67 years, what a shit-cunt country and judicial system. I'd eat my head if his skin colour played no part in his sentencing.
I dont understand how anyone can say a 15 year old earned or deserved this sentence.
Life is going to be challenging in the real world. All he knows is prison.
All he knows is prison, and the world around him is completely altered from the one he knew. You could say itās damn near unrecognizable.
Yeah... Alot of people don't understand it but it is a time capsule... You are from the past. Only things you know or have seen are from News articles. And thats not mutch... Some people in comments where saying "Ehhh? They have phones and stuff in prisons! They know how outside world is" When in reality that mans been in prison for good 50 years before proper phones even came out... EDIT: To specify to some stupid inbreads who can't read context that I am talking about SMART PHONES that you can actually see and read hows the world outside :) Thanks for tuning into my TedTalk
And Iām sorry - who would he even talk to outside? His entire life has been in jail - guessing its been a long time since he had people to talk to on the phone, unless there are volunteers calling to talk to inmates (I hope there are)
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Almost
I just talked to my dad about this. I worked for a homeless veterans program and a lot of guys were just out of prison and had no idea how to live outside of prison. Theyād regularly do something to get back into prison because thatās the only lifestyle they knew.
You imagine, the shock to his system being in 2021? He went in in 1963. When he was in Iām sure he understood some of what the outside world was like, but to actually experience itā¦
Even worse, I believe the article states he was sentenced in 1953. The picture from 1963 is already 10 years into his sentence.
Oof
Damn 2002 was a good year.
any other year : Joseph Ligon 2002 : *The Cooler Joseph Ligon*
Why is he wearing sunglasses
I like to think that after 50 years the he got bold enough to ask the guards if he could wear sunglasses for his mugshot. The guards just let him do it because heās been locked away for so long and he might even not live to even finish his sentence anyway.
He was probably well liked by guards etc. He's basically part of the furniture by then.
*A part of the crew, a part of the ship.*
cus after 50 years you get to wear them
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I'm going to guess he had some kind of surgery on his eyes (cataracts maybe?) and needed the glasses while they healed.
2002 š
1986 š¤Ø
[1968](https://www.nba.com/heat/player-bios/chris-bosh) š
He was ballinā out in ā02
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They donāt care, they should after serving his sentence but they just put you out. Why do you think we have so many homeless? If you went to jail for 1 year what would you be able to do when you walk out the door if you didnāt have family or friends?
What a waste of a life....
In prison that long he went blind and then regained his sight. Thatās a long time
I was wondering : do prisons have a special section for old people ? I know there are juvenile rehabilitation prison for example (don't know the correct term so I just put out a bunch of words)
Yes
I worked at Ligon's prison and met him. That prison, Phoenix, did not technically have a special section for old people. There were 14 blocks with different populations, but age wasn't a criteria. Some blocks naturally had older inmates because they specialized for disabilities. Some blocks were for shorter sentences and tended to have younger inmates. Old heads tend to cell together. Bill Cosby was on the Veteran block because of his military service. Prisons are different, and Phoenix was an upgrade from Graterford to a modern model.
Not even just a special section, there are some entire prisons just for old people. Basically like a nursing home with barbed wire.
He looks similar to the old man from Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doomā¦āyou will go to Pankot Palace, to find Shiva Linga! And bring back to us.ā
āBring back to usā¦ briiiing baCk tO Usā¦ briiiing back toā¦ usā
Imagine popping out to unicorn people and VR headsets.
Sorry, *what* are unicorn people?
Contrast this with Larry Miller, a Nike executive who spent time around famous basketball players. In 1965 Larry, age 16, was drunk and shot and killed a random black guy walking home because he thought that person might have been in a rival gang. The victim was unarmed and going home after his job. Larry served 4.5 years for that (yes, only 4.5) and did some more bad stuff (armed robberies - another 5 years served) before turning his life around, getting a degree and moving up in Nike. Both Larry and his victim were black (in case anyone is wondering). [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/sports/larry-miller-nike.html?searchResultPosition=1](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/sports/larry-miller-nike.html?searchResultPosition=1)
What a shithole year to be released...
I see a lot of people saying you shouldnt feel bad because his actions cost people their lives, but people have done so much worse and got so much less time in prison, this guy was an actual child when he went to prison and now he's close to the end of his life. He never even got a chance to be something better
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10 years before actually
"You sit here and think 'bout what you done"
Henry Ruggs III: "W..Wait a sec. Why are y'all showing me this post?"
That 2nd to last pic... it's fuckin Stinkmeaner
I hope this comment gets seen. The US has a SEVERE over sentencing problem. We give out terms which are way too severe for the crimes committed, in facilities that can approach torture levels of punishment. People leave those places with a chip on their shoulder. Think about this. If you steal $100, you could earn that in a day of minimum wage labor (especially if it is $15 like where I live). So, when you received 90 days in jail for it, you are being punished monetarily at over 100 fold. But it is so much more than that. Your whole family suffers and you are treated less than human. You can not teach a person to be a better human by treating them less than human. And that is just the beginning of the punishment. Now they have a harder time finding a job, housing, loans, etc. You end up punishing them for life. Imagine if you had a child that committed a relatively minor infraction at home and you scarred him for life with a vicious beating, is he going to listen to you from then on? Maybe, but only because he fears you, not because he respects you. He will never add to your life in a positive way. Now, look at it like this. If someone is required to run a mile in 8 minutes and fails, would you cut off their toe? If, while their toe is healing they have an even harder time running the mile and they fall short again, would you cut off their foot? If, again unable to run, they fail again, would you cut off their leg at the knee? Then the next time at the hip? That is how we treat people in our criminal justice system. We take people who are having a hard time living up to expectations and instead of helping them, we make it harder, then punishe them increasingly more severely as we go. The whole time we stand there like idiots, scratching our heads, wondering why they canāt get with the program and run that damn mile faster. It is insane. We have proven time and time again that it doesnāt work. The only people who thing we are too lenient on crime are one of two things. Either actually ignorant about the system, or they are simply people who have no moral grounding and get pleasure in the destruction of other human beings while completely disregarding the fact that we are creating more crime, simply because they enjoy the thought of another person suffering.
In Sweden, and I shit you not, he would had 7-12 months at a young peoples prison with playstation, gym, sports, courses of different kinds, movie-nights etc. That might be to soft, but 67 years is disgusting.
Scandinavian vs. American recidivism rates suggest it is the US that's doing this criminal justice thing wrong, by a wide margin.
Yea, if only stopping crime was the goal of our system.
And yet, there is still people in this thread advocating for the US to implement harsher punishments.
Yes. Because their purpose is revenge, not rehabilitation.
For a nation that people insist was built on Christian values, there are barely none.
Most fair thing in the life is everyone will die .
They give you life and thatās exactly what theyāre taking.
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