Bipartisan effort underway to free St. Louis man sentenced to 241 years as a teenager
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ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOV) — The judge who sentenced a man to 241 years is now part of the effort to see him be released.
On December 12, 1995, Bobby Bostic, 16, and Donald Huston, 18, robbed a group of people delivering Christmas presents to the needy. They fired shots at the group, grazing one of the victims. Then they went on and carjacked a woman.
The crime spree would ultimately land Bostic behind bars for 241 years.
Huston took a plea deal for 30 years.
Judge Evelyn Baker stacked Bostic’s 17 charges consecutively.
At the sentencing, she told the teenager “You’re gonna have to live with your choice, and you’re gonna die with your choice because, Bobby Bostic, you will die in the Department of Corrections.”
But now she believes he deserves a chance at parole.
“He was just a child when I sentenced him but I treated him like he was a full grown adult,” said Baker, who is now retired.
Right now Bostic would be up for parole in the year 2201.
That is the key behind a bill filed by State Rep. Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon).
“This is a common sense issue when you have Republicans and Democrats from all over the state getting on board to request this man get his liberty granted back to him,” said Schroer.
The bill calls for a juvenile who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life with or without parole may submit to the parole board after serving fifteen years.
The other option for Bostic is the request for clemency from Governor Mike Parson. The judge, as well as one of Bostic’s victims, and more than 100 state lawmakers have signed off on the petition asking for his release.
“Without intervention by Governor Parson, Missouri will have guaranteed that Bobby Bostic will, in fact, die in prison based solely on a nonhomicide crime that he committed while he was a child in the eyes of the law,” reads the petition.
Schroer said he has spoken with the governor about the case, advocating Bostic is a good candidate for clemency. A spokesperson for Parson’s office said they are evaluating thousands of petitions.
Bostic has received several degrees while behind bars, written books and hopes to one day mentor other young people.
“241 years is unheard of, it was unheard of back them, individuals who were guilty of murder are back out on the street, this is a gentleman who has been rehabilitated,” said Schroer.
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