Freed 35 Years After Stealing TV
After 35 years in prison for stealing a black-and-white television set, Junior Allen is a free man.
Allen, 65, remained in jail while other inmates convicted of murder, rape or child molestation were released.
“I’m glad to be out,” Allen told supporters outside Orange Correctional Center after his release Friday. “I’ve done too much time for what I did.”
Allen was a 30-year-old migrant farmworker from Georgia with a record that included burglaries and an assault when he sneaked into an unlocked house and stole a television worth $140.
He was sentenced in 1970 to life in prison for second-degree burglary. The penalty for the offense is now a maximum of three years in prison.
The state Parole Commission decided last year to release Allen if he behaved and completed a transitional work-release program. He worked at a restaurant washing dishes and floors and had no prison infractions in the last three years. He did so well he was released several months early -- on his 26th try at parole.
His parole could last up to five years, meaning he could gain complete freedom by age 70.
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