TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ A Florida man who has served nearly 25 years of a life sentence for breaking into a restaurant is being freed. Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet on Thursday agreed to commute Clyde Bunkley's sentence.
Bunkley received the harsh sentence because he was carrying a pocketknife, and Florida law permits a life term for burglary committed with a "dangerous weapon.''
It was handed down despite the fact that the restaurant was unoccupied and Bunkley never used the knife.
Attorney General Bill McCollum and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson argued that 25 years was more than enough for a nonviolent crime.
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink dissented, saying she would have permitted Bunkley instead to seek parole.
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