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Inmate Freed By Judge, Taken Into Custody By ICE

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- A family in Aurora is heartbroken after a judge granted freedom to an inmate, who was released early, only to have him taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Rene Lima-Marin was sentenced to 98 years in prison for armed robbery. He was released early by mistake and spent six years leading a productive life before he was once again sent back to prison to serve the rest of his sentence.

Rene Lima-Marin (3)
(credit: Jasmine Lima-Marin)

On Tuesday, Jasmine Lima-Marin surprised her sons with the good news, only to learn that Lima-Marin was placed on an ICE hold on Wednesday, the day he was expected to be released from prison.

"We just have to wait," Jasmine Lima-Marin said.

Lima-Marin came to the U.S. from Cuba when he was 1 year old, according to Jasmine.

He is on the Department of Corrections' list of illegal immigrants that is annually turned over to the federal government.

Rene Lima-Marin
Rene Lima-Marin (credit: CBS)

On Tuesday, Judge Carlos A. Samour ordered that Rene Lima-Marin be released from the Colorado Department of Corrections.

"At the end of the day, the Court concludes that it would be utterly unjust to compel Lima-Marin, at this juncture, to serve the rest of his extremely long sentence," Samour wrote in his court order. "The government—not Lima-Marin, his family, the community, and society—should bear the brunt of the consequences of its conscience-shocking deliberate indifference."

Lima-Marin was convicted in 1998 for his role in two armed robberies and sentenced to 98 years in prison.

After a decade of serving time behind bars, Lima-Marin wound up being freed in error. It took the State of Colorado six years to realize that a clerical issue was behind Lima-Marin's early release and he was returned to his cell.

In the years he was free, Lima-Marin reset his life. He married his high school sweetheart, had children and found faith.

A resolution asking Gov. John Hickenlooper to grant clemency to Lima-Marin was unanimously approved on the state Senate floor earlier this month.

Jasmine told CBS4 he remains on an ICE hold.

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