A robber mistakenly released from prison decades early says his jail sentence should be quashed.
Rene Lima-Marin, who is now back behind bars, argues it is unfair after he started a family, got a job and reformed himself.
The 38-year-old was convicted in 2000 on multiple counts of robbery, kidnapping and burglary after he and another man robbed two video stores in Denver, Colorado, at gunpoint.
A judge gave him back-to-back sentences totalling 98 years.
However, a court clerk mistakenly wrote in Lima-Marin's file that the sentences should run at the same time.
Lima-Marin was therefore released on parole in 2008.
He then got a job as a window glazer, married and had a son before the authorities realised the error in January 2014, when officers took him back to prison to complete his sentence.
Lima-Marin's attorneys allege the case amounts to official misconduct, but First Assistant Attorney General James Quinn said it was simply an unfortunate mistake.
Judge Carlos A Samour Jr did not immediately decide whether Lima-Marin should be released, saying he needed more time to weigh up the case.
Lima-Marin fought back tears as he told the judge he was experiencing severe emotional pain because of the time away from his wife, her son who he adopted and another son they had together.
"I'm supposed to be the head of the household, the person who's supposed to guide and lead them ... and I've been taken away from them," he said.
"I was stupid, and a dumb kid who made a mistake."
His wife Jasmine has started a petition calling for her husband's release, and it has so far gained more than 280,000 signatures.
Prosecutors say Lima-Marin should not be freed because he knew about the error and never told the authorities.
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