Man to be freed from prison after spending 36 years for stealing $50

A man is due to be freed from prison after spending 36 years in jail for stealing $50.

Alvin Kennard was sentenced to life without parole under an old Alabama “three strikes” law.

Kennard was first charged with two counts of burglary first degree and grand larceny and received a three year suspended sentence in 1979. Four years later he was charged and convicted of robbery in the first degree after robbing a bakery of $50.

Since then, the 58-year-old has remained in jail on a life sentence under the Habitual Felony Offender Act.

Now, a judge has heard his plea to be released at a court hearing in Jefferson County. The court head Kennard, who has spent most of his adult life at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, was ready to take responsibility for his past actions.

According to WBRC, Kennard said: “I’m sorry for what I did… I was wrong. I take responsibility for what I did in the past. I want the opportunity to get it right.”

Judge Carpenter is now said to be filing paperwork to the Department of Corrections ready for his release.