Robber who was mistakenly freed 90 years early says he should not go back to jail

A robber mistakenly released from prison decades early says his jail sentence should be quashed. Rene Lima-Marin, who is now back behind bars, argues it is unfair after he started a family, got a job and reformed himself. The 38-year-old was convicted in 2000 on multiple counts of robbery, kidnapping and burglary after he and another man robbed two video stores in Denver, Colorado, at gunpoint. A judge gave him back-to-back sentences totalling 98 years.

I was stupid, and a dumb kid who made a mistake.

Rene Lima-Marin

However, a court clerk mistakenly wrote in Lima-Marin’s file that the sentences should run at the same time. Lima-Marin was therefore released on parole in 2008. He then got a job as a window glazer, married and had a son before the authorities realised the error in January 2014, when officers took him back to prison to complete his sentence. Lima-Marin’s attorneys allege the case amounts to official misconduct, but First Assistant Attorney General James Quinn said it was simply an unfortunate mistake.

Americas