Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 11-22-16 Online Edition

Feature
Man Given 2 Life Sentences As Teenager Set Free
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
At the age of 13, Ian Manuel was convicted of armed robbery and at- tempted first-degree murder after he shot his victim in the chin. The crime took place July 27, 1990.
Ten months later, Manuel was in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections and began serv- ing the two life sentences he had been given.
When Manuel and his two adopted mothers, Ms. Kathy Miller, and Ms. Lynn Creal, along with his victim, Ms. Debbie Baigrie, and other support- ers arrived at the Courthouse in downtown Tampa on No- vember 10th, he wasn’t opti- mistic about the court date. “We thought it was just an- other status hearing,” Ms. Miller said.
Manuel asked to ad- dress the court and was
Ms. Debbie Baigrie his vic- tim and Ian Manuel are shown in this photograph after the judge set him free.
granted his wish. During his speech, Manuel said, “I was 13 and I never knew life. Now, I’m a man and have the utmost respect for life.”
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom. Everyone, in- cluding the judge (William Fuente) was crying. And the judge said, ‘It’s time for you to go.’ We all hugged, cried, and praised God. But, we didn’t think it was going to happen that day,” Ms. Miller said.
But it did. And after serv- ing 26 years, 10 months, and 3 days, a 39-year-old man walked out of prison. He was free.
His freedom came about in part by the works of the Equal Justice Initiative. The organization has been trying to gain Manuel’s freedom for more than 10 years, Ms. Miller said.
Fate stepped into Manuel’s life when the U. S. Supreme Court struck down the mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles who had not com- mitted murder.
Manuel has lost much during his incarceration. His birth mother, Ms. Peggy Manuel died in June 1996. His father died three years later, and his only sibling, his brother, died in 2008.
Ms. Miller and Ms. Creal became his family and has offered him support and love throughout the years.
Now, Manuel is in a re-
MS. KATHY MILLER ... adopted mother
entry program in Alabama. He is taking small steps to become acquainted with a world he knows nothing about.
When he went to prison, there were no cellular phones, the Internet was in its infancy, and the word “blog” didn’t exist.
Manuel has written a book about his life and plans to speak to young Blacks to help encourage them to be- come successful instead of being sent to prison.
And, he plans to enroll in
MS. LYNN CREAL ... adopted mother
school and become an attor- ney.
Ms. Miller said Manuel has been through a lot, but he “stayed true and faced everything that hap- pened to him head-on. He told me that he has never cried throughout the time he has been in prison.
“But after he was released from prison, he cried and couldn’t stop. He said it was the first time a judge treated him like someone and he felt human,” Ms. Miller said.
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