Victory for campaigners as prisoner, 67, is finally released after spending 20 years in jail for stealing two shirts under Louisiana's three-strikes law
A Louisiana man has been freed after spending 20 years in prison for stealing two shirts.
Guy Frank, 67, was released on Thursday after The Innocence Project New Orleans became involved in his case through its Unjust Punishment Project, which 'works to free people serving life or equivalent sentences for non-violent offenses'.
Frank received a lengthy sentence after being arrested in September 2000 partially because the crime - theft under $500 - was a felony at the time. It has been classed as a misdemeanor since 2010.
The other reason can be traced to Louisiana's controversial habitual offender laws - sometimes known as three-strikes laws - which enable prosecutors to seek harsher sentences for defendants with previous convictions.
Prior to stealing the shirts from Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans, Frank had been arrested 36 times and had been convicted of at least three felonies.
Guy Frank, 67, was released on Thursday after spending 20 years in prison for stealing two shirts
The three-strikes laws have come under heavy scrutiny for contributing to mass incarceration and exacerbating racial inequality in Louisiana, which has the highest number of incarcerations of any US state.
'His case shows how poor Black people are disproportionately affected by these extreme sentences. It is hard to imagine a White person with resources receiving this sentence for this crime,' the Innocence Project New Orleans said in a statement.
The habitual offender laws have also been criticised for focusing solely on punishment, rather than rehabilitation or crime prevention.
Major legislation scrapped some provisions of the habitual offender laws in 2017, but stark racial inequities remain in Louisiana's criminal justice legislation.
Black people make up roughly one-third of the state's population but account for nearly three-quarters of all state prisoners serving life sentences, The Washington Post reported.
Frank, a waiter who was struggling with drug addiction, had been arrested 36 times starting in 1975, according to a state court decision from 2002.
He was convicted several times for theft and for cocaine possession. He has never committed a violent crime, according to The Innocence Project New Orleans.
In the 1990s, he served a three-year sentence though it is not clear what the charges were in that case, The Post reported.
His conviction in October 2000 for the theft of the shirts was his fourth felony offense, meaning the court could sentence him to 23 years in prison.
'He received this egregious sentence despite the fact that he was never a threat to anyone,' The Innocence Project New Orleans said in a statement.
Frank received a lengthy sentence after being arrested in September 2000 partially because the crime - theft under $500 - was a felony at the time. It has been classed as a misdemeanor since 2010. The other reason can be traced to Louisiana's controversial habitual offender laws - sometimes known as three-strikes laws - which enable prosecutors to seek harsher sentences for defendants with previous convictions
After becoming involved in Frank's case, the group contacted the office of Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Rogers Williams, The Washington Post reported.
Williams, a former city councilman seen as a 'progressive prosecutor' was first elected last fall.
He appears to have cut the last three years off Frank's term, according to the Post.
Williams has not commented on Frank's release.
During his incarceration, Frank's wife, son, mother and two of his brothers died, according to a GoFundMe page set up to support him after release.
As of Tuesday morning, the page had raised $70,555, exceeding its goal of $50,000.
Frank 'dreams of becoming an Assistant Deacon and helping and advising others who are struggling,' the page said.
