Roy Brown, a 55-year-old black homeless man, was sentenced to 15 years in jail after stealing a $100 bill from the Capitol One Bank in Shreveport, Louisiana. The bank teller handed him three bill stacks, and Brown handed it all back, save a single hundred dollar bill, which he explained he needed to “stay at the detox center.” Desperate and hungry, he took the $100 (less than what a lot of us make in a day of work). Feeling remorse, he surrendered himself to police and told them “his mother didn’t raise him that way.”
Roy was charged with first degree robbery, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Meanwhile, ex-mortgage CEO Paul R. Allen, a 55-year-old, was sentenced to a mere 40-months in prison in the state of Virginia after contributing to a $3 billion fraud scheme.
The punishment should fit the crime! Roy Brown stole money from a bank so he could have food and shelter, and turned himself in the next day. Paul Allen, on the other hand, helped steal more money than most people will ever make in their lifetimes. Roy has become a victim of a flawed system, and his circumstances are not uncommon. He represents one of the 700,000-2,000,000 homeless persons in America, and he deserves all the help and compassion that we can give. He has been handed a 15-year sentence which, at the age of 55, will mean he’ll likely be released from jail by the time he’s 70.
Roy is not a criminal. He is a victim of circumstance that, thanks to our government’s unreasonable ability to control our debt, is becoming the reality for more and more people and families every day.
Please sign this petition to let Gov. Jindal know that you do not feel that Roy Brown’s punishment appropriately fits his crime, and that you both support and demand a full pardon.
Click here to sign this petition.
Prison Reform Movement's Weblog- America: Land of the Free, Home of the Incarcerated 
drug rehab & vocational training? and he gets out with money in his pocket, plus job skills?? WOW!!! and you my dear are sadly mistaken…due to heavy budget cuts in ALL states- most if not all programs inside prisons are GONE. He may be exposed to AA/NA at best. Gate money…since when does $200.00 help you start anew? sometimes you dont even get that….NO wrongful conviction is worth anytime inside-period. Bottom line we could have much better than placing Roy Brown in prison. Alternative sentencing here would/should have been the path taken-
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You do realize that this homeless man now has a place to sleep, hot meals, and most likely drug rehabilitation/vocational training. He’ll come out of prison with money in his pocket, and job skills he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to obtain. Prison has significantly improved his living conditions.
But by all means, free him, throw him on the street to eat out of the trash and sleep outdoors in winter, it’s the right thing to do.
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I read about this today and found it appalling. Good post.
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Well, I know this might sound like I’m a soulles person, but maybe, MAYBE, after thinking about he’s possibilities, he decided to surrender because at least in jail he’d have a real roof and food everyday. I mean, I totally think that it’s unfair for him to be sentenced for such a long time when he just took a hundred bucks and even regretted after doing so, but there’s this possibility, that he decided it’d be better living in jail for a while than under a bridge or in the streets.
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Thank you so much for supporting this cause. I’m sorry that there are so many ignorant, self-important people in the world. While one voice can go unheard, the voice of many can move mountains. Once again, thank you.
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talk about ignorant..obviously you need to do your homework, Sambo!! this Case is NOT fake…try googling TROLL!! let me say this…your IP address is marked each time you comment……play on mate!
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You ignorant internet humpers. The story is fake. Ever tried researching into the actual case? There exists no information on the case because it didn’t ever happen. Someone created it in order to make a point. Stop being misinformed and try doing some research of your own instead of believing all of the garbage on the world wide web. This blog just lost all of its credibility.
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Lets get this right here- Brown was NOT armed, but he made believe he was- the typical sentence for a armed robbery is a minimum of 3 years to a max of 40 years. What about his prior ARRESTS?? (which btw does not prove he was convicted or even charged in any crime!!)-are you playing judge & jury here?? Three strikes is only applied to serious & violent crimes. Browns crime does NOT merit the sentence he was given-period!! It is people like this, those people like YOU seem to think its ok to throw away that are most at risk. I guess you have no idea what compassion is, do you propaganda patrol? Allen’s crimes were indeed based on FRAUD; the common law in this country is that if you aid and abet in a crime (with the sole exception of those who aid and abet a crime after the fact, after it has happened)and you are found guilty of aiding and abetting in the crime, you suffer the identical punishment as if you had committed the entire crime yourself, that said Mr. Allen perhaps should’ve gotten 30 years without parole just like his supervisor Farkas did! I would say it is YOU that may need to do some research here….keep on patrolling, mate!!
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Before everyone starts buying into this bs story. Mr Allen wasnt found guilty of fraud he was found guilty of aiding and abetting his superior Lee B Farkas, who got 30 years without parol. Also this bank robber, who people are trying to rally for online to get released(kinda like the cop killer) has numerous prior arrests, 8 to be exact. Also the state in which roy brown committed this crime adopted the “three strikes” policy back in 1994 hence the stiff sentence, nevermind the fact it was armed robbery. People need to research before they jump on the band wagon, thats what roy browns supporters want(why people want to free a criminal from prison is beyond me).
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This is just so unfair. This poor man, so remorseful, and at the time he truly felt that he had no choice. Maybe rather than putting him in jail for 15 years, we should spend that money on something a little more productive so that the next Roy Brown is not stuck between a rock and a hard place like this Roy Brown was.
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