CHARLESTON, Mo. — Cornealious ‘‘Mike’’ Anderson spent 13 years free from prison because of a clerical error, then nearly a year behind bars when the mistake was caught.
On Monday, he walked out of a southeast Missouri courtroom a free man again.
Associate Circuit Judge Terry Lynn Brown needed just a 10-minute hearing before ruling that he was giving Anderson credit for time served for all 4,794 days between his conviction and when he was arrested last year. The judge granted Anderson his immediate freedom.
Anderson, 37, left the courthouse with his wife and 3-year-old daughter on one arm, his mother on the other. “‘Very happy,’’ Anderson said as he headed home to suburban St. Louis and a planned family celebration. ‘‘My faith has always been in God. I’m just so thankful.’’
Anderson was 23 when he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for his role in the robbery of a fast-food restaurant’s assistant manager. He said last month that he waited, and even asked about going to prison, but the order never came. In the years since, Anderson started his own businesses, married, and had children. He also coached youth football and volunteered at his church in Webster Groves, Mo.
At the hearing Monday attorney Patrick Megaro said Anderson remained out of prison through no fault of his own, and then turned his life around. Brown agreed, saying he was a changed man.
Anderson’s plight drew international headlines.