PRECIOUS FREEDOM
In Los Angeles an escapee who led a crime-free life for nearly four decades found real freedom. He knew that “someday the boom was going to be lowered,” but now he will sleep easier. Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles pardoned sixty-two-year-old Vincent Pelliccia on fugitive charges only moments before his extradition hearing was to begin. Pelliccia had escaped from a Virginia prison camp in 1946. He had only served a few months of a ten year sentence for burglarizing a store in Norfolk. Pelliccia, who was held in jail for two weeks pending extradition, said he looked forward to “a nice dinner” as he walked out of the courtroom. “The most precious thing that we have is our freedom,” he said. “The right to get up and do what we want to do when we want to do it.” The pardon, conditional on nine and a half more years of good behavior, was the last obstacle to his release. The retired movie…
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