Parole For Prison Escapee Who Lived Double Life
Wilmington, Delaware (United States):
The state has approved a two-year parole term for a man who spent nearly 28 years living under an assumed name that hid his identity as a prison escapee.
Raymond Scully, who escaped from Pender Correctional Institution in 1977, was arrested in March after a traffic stop in Texas. He had lived nearly three decades as law-abiding Steve Johnson.Scully, 53, received word this week that he will be paroled Oct. 6 from Pender Correctional Institution.
The decision by the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission means Scully would be free to leave the Wilmington area upon completion of parole, which could be in one year if supervision is terminated early. Texas authorities have denied Scully's request to return to their state and have his parole overseen there. "They take murderers and child molesters and armed robbers back. I don't know what they think a guy with an expired registration sticker will do," Scully told the Star News of Wilmington during an interview at the medium-security prison. Scully hopes to eventually resume most aspects of his former life and even return to being Steve Johnson. His first residence after release will be a shelter for homeless men in Wilmington.
Scully, a Jacksonville native, was convicted in 1975 in Onslow County of possession with intent to sell and deliver LSD, resulting in a maximum prison term of 10 years. Scully served about two years of the prison sentence, becoming eligible for parole in the process, when he started worrying about his safety after hearing another inmate had a beef with him.His first escape in May 1977 was through a hole in the fence at Pender.
He was captured a few weeks later in Brunswick County.The next month he tried again. He was one of several inmates on a bus to Duplin Correctional Center for a hearing regarding the first escape when an inmate kicked out the back door inside the prison yard.Scully and three inmates bolted. Scully managed to climb over a fence and reach the safety of some nearby woods. While the others were captured, Scully began hitchhiking and ended up in Arizona and eventually got married and settled in Austin, Texas, about 12 years ago.
Everything changed during after the traffic stop while Scully was on his way home from work.The officer ran a background check in the federal criminal database, and asked Scully if he had a scar on his left arm. Police got the proof they needed after fingerprinting Scully, who did not oppose extradition to North Carolina.
"In a way, I'm kind of glad this all happened," he said. "I was just living in my little life, not thinking of anything and this kind of opened my mind to a lot of things. "I question the system like you might if you were younger. This kind of gave me a second childhood in a weird way. It opened my eyes."
Sept 25, 2005
The Associated Press
(Lexington Dispatch, NC)
Wilmington, Delaware (United States):
The state has approved a two-year parole term for a man who spent nearly 28 years living under an assumed name that hid his identity as a prison escapee.
Raymond Scully, who escaped from Pender Correctional Institution in 1977, was arrested in March after a traffic stop in Texas. He had lived nearly three decades as law-abiding Steve Johnson.Scully, 53, received word this week that he will be paroled Oct. 6 from Pender Correctional Institution.
The decision by the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission means Scully would be free to leave the Wilmington area upon completion of parole, which could be in one year if supervision is terminated early. Texas authorities have denied Scully's request to return to their state and have his parole overseen there. "They take murderers and child molesters and armed robbers back. I don't know what they think a guy with an expired registration sticker will do," Scully told the Star News of Wilmington during an interview at the medium-security prison. Scully hopes to eventually resume most aspects of his former life and even return to being Steve Johnson. His first residence after release will be a shelter for homeless men in Wilmington.
Scully, a Jacksonville native, was convicted in 1975 in Onslow County of possession with intent to sell and deliver LSD, resulting in a maximum prison term of 10 years. Scully served about two years of the prison sentence, becoming eligible for parole in the process, when he started worrying about his safety after hearing another inmate had a beef with him.His first escape in May 1977 was through a hole in the fence at Pender.
He was captured a few weeks later in Brunswick County.The next month he tried again. He was one of several inmates on a bus to Duplin Correctional Center for a hearing regarding the first escape when an inmate kicked out the back door inside the prison yard.Scully and three inmates bolted. Scully managed to climb over a fence and reach the safety of some nearby woods. While the others were captured, Scully began hitchhiking and ended up in Arizona and eventually got married and settled in Austin, Texas, about 12 years ago.
Everything changed during after the traffic stop while Scully was on his way home from work.The officer ran a background check in the federal criminal database, and asked Scully if he had a scar on his left arm. Police got the proof they needed after fingerprinting Scully, who did not oppose extradition to North Carolina.
"In a way, I'm kind of glad this all happened," he said. "I was just living in my little life, not thinking of anything and this kind of opened my mind to a lot of things. "I question the system like you might if you were younger. This kind of gave me a second childhood in a weird way. It opened my eyes."
Sept 25, 2005
The Associated Press
(Lexington Dispatch, NC)
