In the United States after 68 years in prison freed stubborn Joseph Ligon, "the old minors"

The oldest juvenile convicted in the United States was released from prison after 68 years in prison. All this time the man refused to apply for parole, arguing that didn't kill anyone.

83-year-old Joseph Ligon from Philadelphia was 15, when in 1953, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment for participation in a series of robberies and assaults in the company of drunken teenagers. As a result of these offences killed two people, although the ligon claimed that no one was killed.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme court ruled that life imprisonment for juveniles is cruel and therefore unconstitutional punishment. However, some States refused to shorten the prisoners, and the Pennsylvania was one of them.

Four years later, the court ordered the States to mitigate the punishment for those who were sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes committed before adulthood. After that, Pennsylvania was re-sentenced Ligon and more than 500 other is serving a life sentence minors to reduced prison sentences, including life imprisonment with possibility of parole.

In 2017 Ligon re-sentenced and sentenced to a prison term of 35 years to life imprisonment. However, having the opportunity to apply for parole, he refused.

Bradley bridge, a public defender representing Ligon 2006, appealed to the Federal court to release his client. In a statement, he wrote that, according to the Constitution, the minimum and maximum assigned by the minor must be individual and universal version of "one size fits all" is unconstitutional.

In November, the district attorney's office of Philadelphia approved the request of the Bridge and demanded that the Ligon or issued another sentence or released within 90 days. Ligon was released from the correctional institution Phoenix in Montgomery County on Thursday.

Ligon was born in Alabama in a poor family. After moving to Philadelphia, he enrolled in primary school, but dropped her to fourth grade without learning to read and write. At the age of 15 years he was considered a pariah among his peers. Ligon said that he was made a scapegoat and forced to answer for the crimes of others.

In prison ligon kept aloof, most of the time worked as a janitor. He also learned to read and write. In his spare time ligon learned to box and keep fit grueling workouts. In the 1970‑ies in Pennsylvania, hundreds of life prisoners freed in the framework of the pardon, but ligon never appealed to mitigate his sentence.