Criminal Justice
Molester's Appeal Backfires
A convicted child molester who spent years appealing for release unwittingly extended his Louisiana prison stay—for life.
Sherman Burton has been in state prison since 1999, appealing his 20-year sentence. But while he was set to be released in 2019, his appeal caught the attention of New Orleans court authorities who belatedly realized Burton had yet to be sentenced as a three-time felon, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
The paper reports that had Burton not pursued his appeal, he would have walked when he sentence was up. That’s because his case was among many mired in a judicial mismanagement scandal.
Instead, Burton, who had two prior rape convictions, will spend the rest of his live at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.
