A homeless man who spent 13 years behind bars for trying to steal food from a Los Angeles church kitchen left prison on Thursday a free man.
Gregory Taylor was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison under the state's three-strikes law because of two prior robbery convictions. He appealed but a court upheld the sentence in 1999. A dissenting appeals court judge said Taylor was a contemporary Jean Valjean, comparing him to the "Les Miserables" character who was imprisoned for stealing bread. On Monday, a Superior Court judge reduced Taylor's sentence to eight years and ordered that he be released for prison for time already served.
"Just being around all the prisoners, the gang members, it was all bad. That was my life," said Taylor.
As Taylor left the jail on Thursday, he was greeted by happy family members and his future boss. Taylor plans to work for his brother's food pantry in Pomona.
