Cornealious Anderson: Sentenced but Never Sent to Prison

Cornealious “Mike” Anderson is a Missouri man convicted of armed robbery in 2000 and sentenced to 13 years in prison who, because of a clerical error, was never ordered to report. He lived openly for 13 years — raising a family, running a construction business, paying taxes — until the Missouri Department of Corrections discovered the mistake in 2013 and had him arrested. A judge released him in May 2014, crediting him for the years he had spent free.

The Burger King Robbery and 13-Year Sentence

On August 15, 1999, Anderson, then 22, and his cousin Laron “Jay” Harris wore masks and used a BB gun to rob the assistant manager of a Burger King in St. Charles, Missouri. The employee recorded the getaway car’s license plate, which led police to both men.¹

Harris pleaded guilty and served a 10-year sentence.² Anderson rejected a plea deal against his attorney’s advice, went to trial, and in 2000 a St. Charles County jury convicted him of robbery and armed criminal action. The court sentenced him to 13 years.¹

How the State Lost Track of Him

Anderson stayed out on bond while his attorney appealed. The Missouri Supreme Court declined to overturn the conviction in 2002, which legally required Anderson to surrender or face a warrant.² Neither happened. No warrant was ever issued, and responsibility for the lapse was never pinned on any single office — the trial court, the appeals court, and the state Supreme Court each played some role.

The CBC reported that a trial court clerk failed to notify the Missouri Supreme Court that Anderson had been free on bond after his conviction.³ The error was compounded at a 2004 post-conviction hearing, when a St. Charles prosecutor told the judge that Anderson was already incarcerated at the Fulton Correctional Facility. His attorney at the time believed the same thing, and no one checked.² Department of Corrections records appeared to show him in custody the entire time.

Thirteen Years as a Free Man

Anderson did not hide. He stayed in the St. Louis suburbs, filed tax returns, obtained business licenses and construction permits, and renewed his driver’s license. He was pulled over for minor traffic offenses, and no officer flagged him as wanted.⁴

He married, had four children, and became a master carpenter who opened several construction businesses. He coached his son’s football team, volunteered at his church, and kept a clean record for the full 13 years.⁵ That ordinary, documented life would become the backbone of the legal case for his release.

The 2013 Arrest

In July 2013, a Missouri Department of Corrections clerk preparing paperwork for what should have been Anderson’s release date realized he had never actually been imprisoned.⁶ U.S. Marshals arrested him at his home on July 25, 2013, and he was taken to the Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, Missouri.¹

The robbery victim, identified only as Dennis, learned about the arrest through Riverfront Times reporting and told This American Life that the state should walk away: “The law dropped the ball. The law ought to drop it completely.”⁷

The Fight to Free Him

Attorney Patrick Megaro filed a writ of habeas corpus in December 2013, arguing that imprisoning Anderson 13 years after the fact — because of the state’s own error — amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Megaro pointed out that Anderson had met every bond condition, appeared when ordered, and never concealed that he was free.⁸

On April 17, 2014, Megaro also filed a clemency petition with Governor Jay Nixon.⁹ Nixon had used that power only once since taking office in 2009, and he never acted on Anderson’s request.⁸

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster at first said Anderson had “taken advantage” of the situation.⁸¹⁰⁹

A Change.org petition gathered more than 35,000 signatures, and the story ran on CNN, the BBC, and in the Guardian, as well as a February 2014 This American Life episode called “Except for That One Thing.”¹⁰¹¹

The May 2014 Ruling

On May 5, 2014, after Anderson had spent about 10 months in custody, Mississippi County Associate Circuit Judge Terry Lynn Brown held a hearing that lasted roughly 10 minutes.³ Judge Brown credited Anderson with 4,794 days, the full span between his conviction and his 2013 arrest, which satisfied the entire sentence.⁴

From the bench, Brown told Anderson: “You’ve been a good father. You’ve been a good husband. You’ve been a good taxpaying citizen of the state of Missouri. That leads me to believe that you are a good man and a changed man.” Continuing to incarcerate him, the judge said, “serves no purpose” and “would be a waste of taxpayer dollars.”³⁴

The judge granted outright credit rather than parole, which meant Anderson was not required to report to a parole officer and walked out fully free. The attorney general’s office, represented by Michael J. Spillane, did not contest the motion.³⁴

A Wrongful Arrest After Release

About six months after his release, Anderson was arrested and charged with felony second-degree robbery for a purse-snatching in downtown St. Louis. He had not committed it. Surveillance video showed he was at a party when the robbery happened, the charges were dropped, and Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce apologized.⁷ Anderson later announced plans to sue the City of St. Louis for false arrest and civil rights violations.¹²

1
CBS News. Man Who Went to Prison 13 Years Late Ordered Released
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Open Casebook. Cornealious Mike Anderson Case
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CBC News. Cornealious Anderson Jailed 13 Years Late Freed in U.S.
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Courthouse News Service. Man Free After State’s 13-Year Error
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CNN. Missouri Delayed Imprisonment
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BBC News. Missouri Man Imprisoned 13 Years Late
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This American Life. Except for That One Thing – Transcript
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NBC News / Today. System Failed Man Who Never Served 13-Year Sentence
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U.S. News & World Report. Cornealious Mike Anderson Missouri 13-Year Sentence
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The Guardian. Missouri Man Imprisoned After 13-Year Delay
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Time. Man Imprisoned 13 Years Late Granted Early Release
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Fox 2 Now. Cornealious Anderson to Sue St. Louis for False Arrest