Purse Snatcher Serving Life Sentence to be Set Free
A Louisiana serving a life sentence will soon be a free man thanks to a ruling from Criminal District Judge Karen Herman. Yesterday, the judge cited a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling that allows for more lenient penalties to be applied retroactively in some cases. 60 year old Eric Robinson has served the last 22 years in prison as part of his life sentence handed down after he was convicted of purse snatching, attempted simple burglary and first-degree robbery in 1996 - his third felony conviction. Because of the sentencing guidelines for 3 time felony offenders, he was given the life sentence
Judge Herman re-sentenced Mr. Robinson to 22 years in prison, with credit for time served. That means that he could be released as soon as next week. He will soon have his own room and be able to come and go as he pleases for the first time in over two decades.
According to NOLA.com, Eric isn't the only one who has benefited from the ruling - so far a handful of prisoners have gone free due to the same process.