He shouldn’t have had the opportunity to be known as “America’s oldest Juvenile Lifer” but he did. At age 83, Joseph Ligon, a juvenile offender, is being released after being granted relief last November.
His story is one we have told many times before. Joe Ligon was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced by an all-white, three-judge panel. His attorney told him to plead guilty. He recounts one day of a trial where he wasn’t even present. He became a “JLWOP”—Juvenile Life Without Parole. At the time of the arrest he was 15. Ligon was sent to die in prison.
In one of his letters to us some time back, Joe said, “I Hope I Live Long Enough To See No Other Youngster Treated As I Was Treated.”
The laws intent was to see Ligon die in prison will never come true. And, if we keep fighting hard enough, Ligon’s next wish will too.
Joseph Ligon will be released on February 11 [two days from now]. With 68 years in prison served, he will be outside of prison walls for the first time since 1953 this week.
