Henry Montgomery Free, Navigating Society After Decades In Prison
Newsy
In November of 1963, a judge convicted 17-year-old Montgomery of murder for killing Deputy Charles Hurt.
After spending nearly six decades behind bars, the Louisiana inmate whose Supreme Court case was instrumental in extending the possibility of freedom to hundreds of people sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity for parole when they were juveniles, was freed on parole Wednesday.
Henry Montgomery, 75, was released from prison just hours after the parole board's decision and went to the offices of the Louisiana Parole Project, a nonprofit which is supporting him after his release. There he was embraced by tearful staff and former juvenile lifers who were freed as a result of the court case that bears Montgomery's name.
"It feels so wonderful," said Montgomery during an interview with The Associated Press. When asked what he plans to do now that he is out of prison, Montgomery said he wanted to pay his respects to his mother and grandmother and other family members who died when he was behind bars.
