Black man serving 241 years sentence since he was 16 and judge regrets decision
A Black man, 39, is still serving a 241-year prison sentence since the day he was 16 even though the original judge wants the verdict overturned.
Bobby Bostic is currently serving in prison for robbery, kidnapping and other crimes in the state of Missouri. The problem is he was sentenced to 241 years and has already served well over two decades for his crimes.
However, according NY Daily News, State Attorney General Josh Hawley said Bobby Bostic’s 241-year sentence for committing 18 crimes does not violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
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He said a ruling that outlaws life sentences for people under 18 who didn’t kill anyone applies only when they’ve committed a single crime.
NY Daily News states Missouri is defending an inmate’s extremely long prison sentence as leaders, including the judge who sentenced him, say his punishment was unconstitutional.
Evelyn Barker, the former St. Louis judge who sentenced Bostic deeply regrets issuing the sentence. She and more than 100 current city officials are petitioning the Supreme Court to throw out the sentence.
What happened
In December 1995, Bostic and his 18-year old friend Donald Hutson robbed volunteers who were delivering Christmas presents. Hutson fired two shots, grazing one person and then they kidnapped a woman, whose car they stole as well as robbing and fondling her, before letting her go.
According to NY Daily News, They used the money they stole to buy marijuana.
Hutson was sentenced to 30 years in prison as part of a plea deal.
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Bostic went to trial and was found guilty.
It is significant to point out that if the very judge who sentenced Bostic, now regrets her own decision, the Supreme Court should certainly weigh that heavily. According to NY Daily News, Baker wrote in an op-ed, “I thought I was faulting Bostic for his crimes. Looking back, I see that I was punishing him both for what he did and for his immaturity.”
