Colorado House Urges Clemency For Prisoner Released Decades Early

There is no question that on several levels Rene Lima-Marin should be behind bars. He was convicted of robbery, burglary, and kidnapping after he and another man robbed video stores at gunpoint. In 2000, he was sentenced to consecutive terms totaling 98 years.

It is not 2098.

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In 2008, he was released. A clerk had mistakenly noted that his sentences were to be served concurrently instead of consecutively. So, he was freed on parole.

He made the most of his second chance. He got a job as a window glazer. He got married. Had two sons. By all accounts, became a model citizen.

It all came to an end in 2014 when his co-defendant appealed his case and in reviewing the record, prosecutors realized that a mistake had been made with Lima-Marin. It wan't too hard to find him - he wasn't exactly in hiding; he was proud of the life that he had built.

Prosecutors, though, saw things differently. They argued that Lima-Marin knew he wasn't supposed to be getting out and should have said something.

So, while he now sits in jail waiting on a judge's ruling on whether he should be released, a bipartisan effort has been picking up steam to have Governor Hickenlooper grant him clemency.

On Friday, as Lima-Marin's wife and sons watched - they received a standing ovation from lawmakers - members of the Colorado House, from both sides of the aisle to speak in favor of a resolution declaring Lima-Marin's sentence "cruel and unusual punishment" and asking the governor to grant him clemency.

It passed overwhelmingly.

The senate will consider the matter on May 4.