16yr Old gets 241 year prison sentence - Bobby Bostic

Would you give up on a 16 year old kid for life? The Judge gave Bobby Bostic a sentence of 241 years in prison without the possibility for parole until he was 112 years old. Bobby was an accomplice in two armed robberies. Judge Evelyn Baker sentenced him to die in prison without giving him an official life sentence. If he had been given a life sentence he would have been eligible for parole after 25 years. Judge Baker said, "your mandatory date to go in front of the parole board will be 2201. Nobody in this room will be alive in the year 2201." A very dark statement, that Judge Baker later regretted. She began to do research about the brain of a teenager and when it is fully developed. The Judge became an advocate for Bostic's release. She was the first person he hugged 27 years later when he was released. A lot had to happen before that release. Laws had to change. In 2010, The Supreme Court mandated parole hearings for juveniles that were sentenced to life without parole. The problem was that ruling did not apply to Bobby because the way he was sentenced was multiple offenses that added up to life. He fell into a legal loophole. The failed appeal before the Supreme Court was argued by Ken Starr, Sally Yates, with the support of 100 plus law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and former judges. The Missouri law was changed in 2021 that gave Bostic an opportunity of a parole hearing. In those 27 years of prison, Bobby reformed into a model prisoner. He wrote seven books on his typewriter. He wrote letters to people and sought funding for his college education. And like in the movie "Shawshank Redemption," he built a fully stocked library with the help of St. Louis Public Libraries. Again, after several letters seeking help. Bobby was released November of 2022. Bobby says, "I want to be a mentor and teach young people to take a different path than I did when I was a young child myself." Bobby Bostic books (Amazon), Dear Mama, A Generation Misunderstood, Life Goes On In Prison, Mental Jewelry, Mind Diamonds, When Life Gives You Lemons make Lemonade, and Endless Moments In Prison.