When Bobby Bostick was released from prison in November 2022, having served 27 years of his 241-year sentence, many things seemed strange to him, writes "BBC".

From wireless headsets, electronic assistants, vending machines, Bostick's world looked a lot different than it did in December 1995, when he was imprisoned.

"I see people talking to themselves, and they're actually wearing wireless headphones, I see them talking to speakers, and it's actually the Alexa assistant, I see how you just press a button and get a drink," says the former prisoner.

But the strangest thing for him were the people themselves.

"It's strange to me that they are so friendly, compared to the ones from the prison," says Bostick, 44. "When you go to the store, people say, 'How can we help you, sir?', in prison there are only angry characters and violence," he explains.

He still finds it strange that people ask him "how's he doing" as opposed to "don't get me wrong".

"There are many fine things in the free world. People laugh, children play, this is actually life, this is normal. This is how you should live," he says.

He says that while he was in prison he really missed ordinary humanity.

Bostick spent almost 10 thousand nights in a cell, and November 8, 2022 was his last night in prison. He says he thought too much about freedom that he couldn't sleep.

He spent the last night packing. He left most of the items he had with the other prisoners, but he took one thing with him. It is the typewriter, because as he says, he wrote many stories on it that he will remember all his life.

How did he end up in prison?

Twenty-five years ago, Judge Evelyn Baker told Bostick he would "die in prison."

He was arrested in December 1995 by the police in St. Louis.

As a 16-year-old boy, Bostick drank gin and smoked marijuana with a friend. They decided to rob people on the streets of the city. The couple stole from dozens of people, and opened fire on the people who robbed them, but luckily there were no victims. They also managed to steal a car from a woman.

At first, Bostick was given several offers by the court if he pleaded guilty. But he never admitted that he did the events, after which the court found him guilty. Judge Baker gave him consecutive sentences for his 17 crimes, bringing his prison sentence to 241 years.

His friend pleaded guilty and received only 30 years in prison.

In 2010, the US Supreme Court ruled that juveniles should not receive life sentences without parole for non-homicide crimes. In 2016, it was confirmed that the ruling should refer to past cases, such as Bostick's case.

But in the case of Bostick, nothing changed, that is, he remained in prison, and the court rejected his appeal.

Bostick received hope after a new law was passed in Missouri, offering parole to inmates who were given long sentences as children.

Years later, there was still nothing new in Bostick's case, so he decided to publicly appeal for his rights.

Judge Evelyn Baker, who told Bostick in 1983 that he would "die in prison" after retiring in 2008, admitted the case was "the only decision she regrets". Baker in 2018 for “Washington PostShe stated that Bostick's case was unfair.

"Bobby was a 16-year-old kid who I treated like an adult, which was wrong," she said. "I became close to Bobby and his sister. I have seen a basically juvenile delinquent turn into a very careful, caring adult. He grew up.''

The court finally decided to release Bostick last November.

As he recounts, hundreds of people visited him after he returned to his home. His family welcomed him with open arms.

Bobby and his sister now run the Dear Mom charity, which provides food, toys and other support to low-income families in St. Louis. He runs a writing workshop every Thursday at the city's juvenile center and hopes to do more. But like the charity, it is voluntary work.