Cornealious ‘Mike’ Anderson, who was imprisoned in July 2013 for a crime he was convicted of 13 years prior, was released from prison Monday.

Cornealious ‘Mike’ Anderson Released

Anderson, due to a clerical mistake, was never put behind bars for his conviction in an armed robbery he committed in his 20s. At the time, he inquired about his imprisonment to his lawyer and half-waited to get picked up by law enforcement. Choosing not to flee the state, Anderson cleaned up his act and made a life for himself. Before he was jailed in July, Anderson was running his own construction company and was happily married with children.

“He has been able to accomplish for himself what the criminal justice system does not accomplish in many situations," Patrick Megaro told the judge during Anderson’s hearing on Monday, touting his client’s self-rehabilitation.

Mississippi County Associate Circuit Judge Terry Lynn Brow needed little convincing to agree with Megaro’s case for Anderson’s release. "You've been a good father," Brown told Anderson, 37. "You've been a good husband. You've been a good taxpaying citizen of the state of Missouri. That leads me to believe that you are a good man and a changed man."

Attorney General Chris Koster, did not take issue with Brown’s decision, stating his believe that it was balanced. "From the outset, I have proposed a solution that balances the seriousness of Mr. Anderson's crime with the mistake made by the criminal justice system and Mr. Anderson's lack of a criminal record over the past 13 years,” Koster said in a statement. “Today's outcome appears to appropriately balance the facts as we understand them."

Anderson Gets Time Served, No Parole

Not only was Anderson freed from prison, but all 4,794 days he spent out of jail and building his life were counted as time served. Consequently, he was not put on parole and will therefore not be required to attend parole meetings.

In July, when Anderson was technically supposed to be released from prison, Missouri Department of Corrections realized that he’d never spent any time in jail due to a clerical error in which it wasn’t noted he’d been on bond following his initial conviction. Consequently, Anderson was arrested and brought to prison, and would be forced to remain there for the next 13 years had the judge not chosen to be compassionate.

Anderson departed the Missouri courthouse a free man hand-in-hand with his wife and their three-year-old daughter.