The Nation - News from June 13, 1985

An obese sex offender whose brief release from prison because of his size prompted national outrage in 1982 has been granted a parole date after serving three years of a 15-year sentence, an official said in Trenton, N.J. Joseph A. (Jo-Jo) Giorgianni, 35, was granted a parole date of Dec. 17 after a hearing at Leesburg State Prison, where he lost 64 pounds down to his present weight of 429 pounds, said Christopher Dietz, chairman of the New Jersey State Parole Board. Giorgianni won a brief release from prison in August, 1982, after he convinced a judge that a lack of air conditioning could kill him.