DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - The oldest Michigan prisoner serving a life sentence for murder as a teen is about to be a free man.
Sheldry Topp, 74, has been in prison since 1962. But he was resentenced Tuesday to a minimum of 40 years -- making him immediately eligible for freedom.
Michigan Department of Corrections spokesperson Chris Gautz said Topp is expected to be released from Muskegon Correctional Facility Thursday afternoon.
Michigan and other states were forced to change the way they sentence teens after the U.S. Supreme Court said minors can't automatically be given life prison terms. No-parole sentences still are possible -- and that's what prosecutor Jessica Cooper wanted for Topp. But Oakland County Judge James Alexander said Topp has been rehabilitated.
Topp was convicted of fatally stabbing a man during a robbery. He was 17 at the time.