Don’t Steal a Plasma TV in NC

From the files of the Shawshank Redemption comes the following story. After 35 years in prison for stealing a black-and-white television set, Junior Allen is a free man.

Allen was a 30-year-old migrant farm worker from Georgia with a criminal history that included burglaries and a violent assault when he sneaked into an unlocked house and stole a 19-inch black-and-white television worth $140.

Some state records say Allen roughed up the 87-year-old woman who lived there, but he was not convicted of assault.

Instead, he was sentenced in 1970 to life in prison for second-degree burglary. The penalty for the offense has since been changed to a maximum of three years in prison.

How did this guy piss off? Reminds me of Pops from the original ‘The Longest Yard’ who got his sentence extended for punching the warden.

Allen, 65, walked out of prison Friday, ending a case that attracted widespread attention because he remained in jail while other inmates convicted of murder, rape or child molestation were released.

As long as it wasn’t me I guess I could joke about it.

“For a black-and-white TV, how much do you have to pay?” Hasberry said. “We’ve got an in-house joke here: How much time would he have gotten if he had stolen a color TV?”

Allen, I beg of you. Stay away, far away from the Plasma TV’s.