Back in 1984, 22-year-old Alvin Kennard was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole—for stealing $50.75 from an Alabama bakery. Under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act, Kennard’s offense, his fourth, required a sentence of life with no possibility of parole. It has been 35 years since Kennard was first confined in the Alabama prison system. On Wednesday, Judge David Carpenter, a circuit court judge in Jefferson County, converted Kennard’s sentence into one of time served. This means the now-58-year-old Kennard will finally be released from prison.
Alabama amended its Habitual Felony Offender Act in the 2000s, but did not make it retroactive for people such as Kennard. According to Time, Kennard’s attorney Carla Crowder argued that even under the new law, Kennard had served the maximum sentence allowed by Alabama law—20 years. Remember: 22-year-old Alvin Kennard stole $50.75 from a bakery. He has been in jail for over three and a half decades. His previous three crimes were nonviolent offenses.
Kennard’s attorney credited Judge Carpenter with bringing Kennard’s case to her attention. Kennard is one of hundreds of life-without-parole inmates in Alabama, whom the new sentencing guidelines do not help. “As incredible as this opportunity is for Mr. Kennard and as happy as we are for him, we know that there are hundreds of similarly situated incarcerated people in the state who don’t have attorneys, who don’t have a voice,” Crowder said.
ABC News reports that Kennard has been able to maintain familial ties during his decades-long confinement and was considered a “pretty exemplary inmate.” According to Crowder, while Kennard has had very meager possessions in prison, he has been worrying about how he can leave things like his thermals for a less fortunate inmate to stay warm this winter.