VA. MAN FINISHES OLD JAIL SENTENCE

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) A man who fled a jail work crew in 1974 while serving
time for selling $10 worth of marijuana was released Monday after serving 2
1/2 months on his original sentence and an escape conviction.

The state granted Alfred Odell Martin III parole two weeks after he
persuaded a judge to give him a break for turning his life around while
living in virtual exile in Michigan.

"Finally, the moment came when I was smelling the fresh air and looking at
the blue sky, and it was overwhelming," Martin, who had lived as a
businessman in suburban Detroit, said after he left jail.

Martin was caught selling marijuana to a department store co-worker and was
less than two days into his one-year sentence when he left a Martinsville
jail work crew on Feb. 13, 1974.

Virginia first sought his extradition in 1974, but then-Gov. William
Milliken of Michigan effectively granted Martin legal asylum.

He was caught driving with expired license plates in Michigan last November,
and Virginia pressed for and later won his extradition.

The Michigan judge who handled Martin's fight to avoid being returned to
Virginia praised Martin for living an "exemplary life."