Man who falsely claimed to have Ebola gets 10-year suspended sentence
Originally charged in a Georgia misdemeanor driving-under-the influence case, Harry Randall Withers has pleaded guilty to three false-statements felonies after incorrectly claiming that he had recently traveled to Africa and might have the deadly Ebola virus.
Although he was sentenced to a 10-year prison term in the Cobb County case, all but one year has been suspended, and Withers won’t have to serve even that one year if he successfully completes an out-of-state inpatient drug rehabilitation program that lasts six months, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
“We will not tolerate anyone manipulating the system like this and preying on our worst fears,” prosecutor John Melvin said in a Thursday news release provided to the newspaper. “When you put the county and law enforcement through such a useless exercise as this, we will find out the truth.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Arrested on misdemeanor, man now faces felony case over claimed false Ebola statements at jail”
