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Captured and Freed After 44 Years on the Lam

By Jeralyn, Section Inmates and Prisons
Posted on Sun Jul 04, 2004 at 10:09:19 PM EST
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We love stories with happy endings. This one is about Eddie Miller. For the past 44 of his 69 years, he has led a law-abiding life in Florida, married with children. Recently, there was a knock on his door. It was the police with a warrant for his arrest. Turns out he had walked away from a Georgia prison detail 44 years ago. He admitted he was the same Eddie Miller they were looking for and they hauled him back to Georgia and put him in jail. He did okay there, no complaints. The prisoners were pretty young and violent and called him "Pops," but he accepted his fate. He never even hired a lawyer.

Here's the happy ending:

The Department of Corrections notified the State Board of Pardons and Paroles of Miller's recapture. Noting his age and 44 years of clean living, the board voted to consider Miller for commutation. Miller had not even hired a lawyer and had no idea that the board had taken up his case.

On June 1, the old man was sitting around the unit's common area when Jones walked up with a fax in his hand. "I've got some good news for you," he told Miller, then read aloud from a letter stating that Miller's sentence had been commuted to time served. "The 11th of this month, you'll be a free man," Jones said. A beaming Miller shook Jones' hand. His fellow inmates slapped him on the back.

....[his wife] Ethel was at the prison before sunup that Friday. As he walked away from a Georgia prison for the second time in his life, Miller turned to Jones and quipped: "I'm going to miss this place and the good food you all served me." His wife drove the car back to Fort Pierce. Every so often, Miller would reach over and pat her arm or hold her hand.

A perfect ending to this 4th of July holiday that reminds us to celebrate and cherish our liberty and freedom.

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