An African-American man who was given a life sentence when he tested positive for marijuana in violation of his parole has been freed after serving 17 years in prison.
Tyrone Brown was 17 when he and a friend pulled a gun on a man in Dallas, Texas, and demanded his wallet. They took US$2 and gave the wallet back. The pair were soon caught and Brown was sentenced to 10 years' probation. When he tested positive for marijuana the same year the judge, Keith Dean, changed the original sentence to life in prison, commenting: "Good luck, Mr Brown."
The court-appointed defence lawyer failed to object.
The case became notorious after it emerged how lenient the same judge was with a well-connected white man who was given probation for murder. He repeatedly breached probation, including by using cocaine, but Dean sent him to a private treatment center rather than jail and gave him "postcard" probation whereby he wrote to the court once a year.
In jubilant scenes outside the prison in Huntsville, Texas, where he had been confined, Brown was met by friends, family and media on his release.
"I still feel like I'm 17," he told reporters. "I'd like to take a bath. I've been standing up for 17 years."
Looking at family pictures on mobile phones, he said: "When I went in a phone looked like a big block of cheese."
His mother, Nora Brown, said: "It still doesn't feel real ... I keep pinching him."
Following an outcry led by the daily Dallas Morning News, Texas Governor Rick Perry granted Brown a conditional pardon last week. But the terms of the pardon still place restrictions on the 34-year-old. He must live with his mother, report to a parole officer indefinitely, undergo counselling about his re-entry to society and submit to drug treatment.
"Even though I've got my freedom, I'm somewhat bound," Brown said. "I can't predict the future. But I'm going to do everything I can to stay out of there."
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