FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Richard DeLisi is a free man after serving 31 years of a 90-year sentence for selling marijuana.
The 71-year-old walked out of a Florida prison Tuesday saying he's not bitter about the lost years and prefers to focus on creating memories with his family.
According to The Last Prisoner Project, DeLisi was believed to have been the longest-serving nonviolent cannabis prisoner.
He was sentenced to 90 years in 1989 at the age of 40. DeLisi's older brother, Ted, was also convicted, USA Today reported.
According to the Associated Press, the typical sentence was only 12 to 17 years.
DeLisi told the AP that he believes he was targeted because the judge mistakenly thought he was part of organized crime because he was Italian.
According to USA Today, Ted was released from prison in 2013 after successfully appealing his conspiracy conviction.
While he was in prison, Richard's wife, parents, and 23-year-old son all died.
On Tuesday, he met two granddaughters for the first time and ate at his favorite crab restaurant.
