A judge sentenced a New York man to 5 life terms, but changed his mind 27 years later

New York City — In 1997, Walter Johnson was sentenced to five life terms for a robbery conviction at a time when he went by “King Tut” and was known as a notorious New York criminal. But 27 years later, the same judge who locked him away believed the former inmate deserved freedom.

“My only expectation was to leave prison with a toe tag,” Johnson told CBS News while, for the first time, sitting beside the judge who freed him.

A federal jury in 1996 convicted Johnson of seven counts, including robbery, witness tampering and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.    

Last summer, 90-year-old U.S. District Judge Frederic Block decided to give Johnson a second chance in a landmark ruling where Block acknowledged that he had been inexperienced during the initial sentencing and that the rarely used 1990s “three strikes law” — which required life sentences for certain third criminal offenses — was antiquated and too inflexible. 

Johnson, 61, was released last October after Block filed hundreds of pages of motions seeking early release with a letter of support from one of his robbery victims.

“That was the best day of my life,” Johnson said. 

Johnson is still on supervised release in the court system, and if he commits another crime, he will go back to prison.

He managed an immaculately clean record during his three decades in prison, and was a model inmate who mentored and contributed to prison programs.

“We don’t let everyone out of jail,” Block told CBS News. “People like [Johnson] who are deserving, who have shown they have rehabilitated themselves in jail are the ones who we let out.” 

The Justice Department opposed his release, arguing Johnson’s rehabilitation and remorse were not sufficiently “extraordinary and compelling.”

But the department’s argument failed after Block encouraged his colleagues and more states to consider second chance laws.

Block used a new provision in the “First Step Act” justice reform law that President Trump signed into law in 2018 that aided in Johnson’s release. 

Now, Johnson is living a complete 180 and just used a cell phone for the first time a few months ago. He’s already a social media influencer.

“I’m trying to enlighten people to understand the importance of their freedom, that all it takes is one miscalculation to throw your life away,” Johnson said. 

Block said he believes Johnson’s story is one of hope and redemption.

“And without hope, people have no reason to continue to live.”