In this February 1964 photo, Henry Montgomery, standing next to two congressmen, awaits a verdict in his trial for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Charles H. Hurt in Louisiana. On Wednesday, a Louisiana pardon board approved a pardon for Montgomery after he served 57 years in prison.
John Boss / The Advocate via AP
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John Boss / The Advocate via AP
NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana parole board approved a pardon Wednesday for Henry Montgomery, whose Supreme Court case was instrumental in expanding the possibility of freedom for hundreds of people sentenced to general prison terms. themselves without the opportunity to be pardoned while they were still minors.
Montgomery, 75, convicted of murder in 1963 of East Baton Rouge sheriff, Sheriff Charles Hurt, who caught him truanting from school. Montgomery was only 17 years old at the time. He was initially sentenced to death but the state Supreme Court sentenced him in 1966, saying he did not receive a fair trial. The case was retried, Montgomery was convicted again, but this time sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He served for decades at the Louisiana State Prison in Angola.
A three-member panel voted unanimously in favor of the amnesty. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a meeting held on Zoom with Montgomery appeared on camera at the Louisiana State Prison in Angola, where he has spent his entire adult life.
“He’s been in prison for 57 years. He’s got an excellent record of… disciplinary action. In our judgment, he was a low-risk person. When he voted for Montgomery’s release with certain conditions included a curfew and he was not allowed to contact the victim’s family.
Montgomery’s case paved the way for the release of other juvenile offenders
Montgomery’s release was due to two specific Supreme Court cases. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that the mandatory sentencing of life without parole to juvenile offenders was “cruel and unusual” punishment. But it does not address the question of whether the decision applies retroactively or only to later cases.
In 2016, the Supreme Court settled on hearing Montgomery’s case and extended its decision on such sentences to those already in prison.
The decision ushered in a wave of new sentences and the release of inmates from Michigan to Pennsylvania, Arkansas and beyond. But, until Wednesday, Montgomery remained in prison.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, in 2017, he was pardoned for life in 2017 and the state judge who was disgruntled with Montgomery called him a “model prisoner” who appeared to have renovated. But then the pardon board rejected his application twice, most recently in 2019.
Montgomery will be released for the Louisiana Parole Project. The nonprofit was founded in 2016 by Andrew Hundley, a former juvenile loan shark, to help reintegrate people who have served long prison sentences – often 20 years or more – society. The organization helps ex-prisoners get housing, sign up for healthcare or medication, get ID cards, and learn to navigate society.
Hundley was speaking during the hearing, with several former adults who had gone through his program sitting in a room behind him. When the unanimous decision was announced, people could be seen clapping their hands at the news.
During the hearing, Hundley and others talked about what Montgomery had achieved in prison including his years working at the prison’s screen printing shop and his stay.
“There was nothing left for him to accomplish at the Louisiana State Penitentiary,” said Hundley. “It’s time for Henry to go home.”
Some still oppose his release
His release was not without objections. Hurt, the sheriff killed by Montgomery, is married and has three children. His two daughters met Montgomery in prison and were forgiven by him, but family members opposed his release. A prosecutor from Montgomery’s crime district has spoken out against his pardon as well as one of the deputy’s daughters, Linda Hurt Woods.
“I don’t believe he should be released at this point, and say the decision shows a profound disrespect to law enforcement officers,” Woods said. “He made the decision at 17. You know right from wrong at 17. I did.”
Montgomery himself said very little during the hearing, which lasted about half an hour. According to attorney Keith Nordyke, he is extremely difficult to hear and Nordyke often has to repeat questions from board members. Montgomery said at one point that he struggled to find the words to express himself.
“I’m really sorry this happened,” Montgomery said. “I’m going to have to live with this for the rest of my life, the rest of my life.”
Since the Montgomery court decision, about 800 people who were sentenced to life in prison without parole as minors have been released, according to the Campaign for Fair Sentencing for Youth.
“Today’s decision to pardon Mr Montgomery is long overdue,” said Jody Kent Lavy, co-executive director of the organization. “It is a grave injustice that he has spent more than 57 years in prison for a crime he committed as a teenager, despite the evidence that he was long since rehabilitated.”
