Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson’s half-brother, who served 33 years for ordering a hit on a childhood pal, has been granted compassionate release and freed from prison at age 80. Prosecutors argued against mercy for Noah Robinson—who was a millionaire businessman at the time of his conviction—but a federal judge cited his ill health in commuting his life sentence to time served. “Robinson was convicted of brutal crimes, but he is 80 years old and has now been in custody for almost 33 years,” Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer wrote. “That is a significant period for the purposes of punishment and general deterrence.”
