ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man sentenced to more than two centuries in prison as a teenager may have renewed hope for freedom.
Bobby Bostic is serving consecutive sentences totaling 241 years for an armed robbery he committed with a friend when he was 16. He’s eligible for parole when he’s 112 years old.
The judge who sentenced him told 5 On Your Side in 2018 she regrets it.
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That judge, Evelyn Baker, was in Jefferson City on Tuesday to support new legislation based on Bostic’s case.
If passed, it would allow anyone younger than 18 sent to prison for more than 15 years to ask a parole board for a review of their case after 15 years and every three years after that.
“He's gotta fly on his own. He's gotta live outside the Department of Corrections. I think he has the chance to be an amazing person, get married, have kids, be a part of a community,” Judge Baker said Tuesday.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Nick Schroer, said it has bipartisan support, but it could be a couple years from a vote.
That’s why he’s planning to meet with the governor in a couple of weeks to advocate for Bostic’s clemency.
None of the victims of the armed robbery are against granting Bostic clemency, and one even wrote a letter in support of it, Rep. Schroer said.
Bostic is represented by the ACLU, whose lawyers appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018. The Supreme Court did not hear his case.
“Everything in here reminds you to get out, stay out. Everything in prison makes you want to be free,” Bostic told 5 On Your Side in 2018. “Through God I just have hope that just one day I’ll get a second chance.”
