In a stunning reprieve for a man sentenced to more than five centuries behind bars for a nonviolent offense, a judge in Los Angeles on Thursday summarily slashed his sentence to time served and ordered his immediate release.
Juan Carlos Seresi, a convicted money launderer whose projected release date from the federal Bureau of Prisons had been July 8, 2419, was suddenly ordered to be freed "without delay" by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson. Once out, Seresi will be subject to a three-year term of supervised release, according to Wilson's order.
"It's a miracle," Seresi said after hearing the news from his daughter, Patti Mawer, she told CNN. Mawer, 46, said her father has been behind bars since she was a teenager, but has remained an integral part of her family's life.
"After all this praying and all this hoping, he can't believe it," Mawer added.
Seresi, 73, was one of four defendants sentenced to 505 years behind bars in 1991 for laundering cocaine cartel cash who were featured in a CNN report published in August. The article noted how the sentences were considered harsh even back then and represent the sort of draconian punishment that has since been widely condemned amid a national conversation around justice reform.
These men received 505-year prison sentences each. Now their cases are under new scrutiny
These men received 505-year prison sentences each. Now their cases are under new scrutiny
