JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man who was sentenced to life in prison received another chance at freedom thanks to State Attorney Melissa Nelson.
In 2012, Sam Hughlon was 35 years old and already considered a habitual felony offender after a Duval County judge sentenced him to life in prison for armed robbery. Hughlon served seven years of that life sentence and managed to get his conviction amended, which led to his freedom.
"It’s hard to explain the way that life sentence feels. I lay in that bed at night facing that wall, tears in my eyes, thinking, 'I’m going to actually die in here for something I didn’t do,'" Hughlon told News4Jax on Monday.
Police said Hughlon robbed a woman at gunpoint at a North Jacksonville home in 2012. Hughlon was living there at the time of the incident.
"I explained to them that I didn’t do the armed robbery," Hughlon said. "If they actually investigated the things I told them to investigate, they would see that I’m actually innocent."
Police didn’t buy his explanation of events and Hughlon, who was already a convicted felon, found himself back in the criminal justice system. The case went to trial and he lost. The judge sentenced him to life in prison.
"They said (the reasoning was) because I was a habitual offender," Hughlon explained.
While in prison, Hughlon fought to have his case appealed.
“After I lost the trial, my attorney was able to get the evidence that I was asking her to get from the get-go that the judge wouldn’t let me get," he said. "So I had that evidence."
That evidence included phone records, depositions and inconsistent statements from the accuser.
Hughlon filed an appeal to his conviction based on the evidence that he said was not present during his trial. He even wrote letters to Nelson. A judge finally granted him an evidentiary hearing, which led to prosecutors offering him a plea deal to a lesser charge.
"The state came to me and said, 'Look, we prefer not to have an evidentiary hearing. We prefer to not pursue this any further if you’re willing to go ahead and accept an offer,'" Hughlon said.
He said the state offered to reduce the armed robbery charge to simple robbery, which is a far lesser felony that would have put him behind bars for only eight years. He accepted the post-conviction plea deal and was given credit for already serving seven years. On Tuesday, he was released from prison.
Although Hughlon was freed from a life sentence in prison, he’s still considered a convicted felon in the 2012 armed robbery case. News4Jax asked Hughlon why he would accept a lower charge if he didn't do it.
"Any sane person with a life sentence would do what I did," he replied. "I got another chance to be free again."
But freedom isn’t actually free. Had it not been for a relative who allows him to live with her until he can get back on his feet, Hughlon would be on the streets because he had no other place to live after he was released. Now, he’s starting over with nothing and hoping the public will help him by donating to the Helping Hands for Simple Demands group, which aims to help people get back on their feet.
Given his criminal past, Hughlon said he realizes he can't afford to make any mistakes from here on out. He hopes young people will learn from his experience.
"A life sentence is no joke. It hurts," Hughlon said. "You don’t think about it when you’re out here. You don’t think about the consequences and all that."