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Red Sox Fan Sprung From Jail—for Game
Judge calls furlough 'compassionate' act for man with few joys in life
By Kevin Spak
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Posted Sep 25, 09 8:48 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Red Sox fandom turned out to be a get out of jail free card for one Iowa man. Randy Barker was serving a 20-day jail sentence for violating a protective order, but his lawyer argued that he should be released long enough to attend a Sox game with his dad and brother in Kansas City, calling it one of “the few pleasures the defendant has in life.” Even better: The Sox won, 10-3.
The judge agreed, calling it a “compassionate” act, the Boston Herald reports. A prosecutor objected, but not very strenuously. “I opposed the motion, because he was serving a jail sentence,” the county attorney said, adding that he didn’t really mind “under the circumstances.” Barker’s attorney said he’d been planning to attend the game for months. “It’s a small town. Everybody knows everybody, and everybody trusts everybody. Everybody had a lot of compassion for him.”