MUSKEGON, Mich. – Sheldry Topp, Michigan's oldest and longest-serving inmate who was sentenced to life in prison for murder as a teen, was released Thursday.
WOODTV reports Topp, 74, had been locked up since 1962. He was convicted of stabbing Charles Davis to death during a robbery in the Detroit area.
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Topp was 17 at the time.
The Supreme Court decided in 2012 that sentencing a minor to life in prison without a chance of parole was unconstitutional and represented cruel and unusual punishment, even if the juvenile was convicted of murder.
In 2016, the Supreme Court decided the law should be applied retroactively, and Topp was given a new sentence.
Oakland County Judge James Alexander said Topp had been rehabilitated and gave him a new minimum sentence of 40 years.
Chris Gautz, a representative for the Michigan Department of Corrections, said Topp -- at this point -- had served 56 years and had accrued more than 10 years' worth of good behavior credits, allowing him to be released without a parole hearing.
Court records show Topp completed rehabilitation programs and took multiple academic courses during his prison sentence at Muskegon Correctional Facility.
Topp said it felt good to be a free man again, but he declined to comment further out of respect for the Davis family.