Idea for TV Movie of the Week: The Johnny Holly, Jr. Story

Johnny Holly, Jr.

In Alabama, Johnny Holly, Jr. has been freed after serving 30 years of a sentence of life without parole. His crime: he stole a toolbox. His sentence was the result of a three-strikes law.

How did he get free?

He is free today only because the Legislature changed the repeat-offender law early this decade. The change in the law allowed for the possibility of parole. Even so, it took him several years to be resentenced and to get out.

Who helped him ? The prosecutor and a host of prison guards. Continue reading

Reactions to “Farrah’s Story”

Farrah's Story

I wasn’t going to watch “Farrah’s Story” last night, but then I did, all two hours of it. It made for a fitful night’s sleep and every time I woke up I was thinking about it and how horrible and tragic and hopeless her situation is.

I wasn’t going to write about it but this review in the New York Times made me angry. The comments by readers are across the board. Continue reading