After 36 years in prison, this innocent man just wanted a burger
This is the moment a freed prisoner tasted a meal that had been dangled in front of him for decades.
Freshly freed from prison for a murder he did not commit, Michael Hanline made straight for Carl’s Jr to try a burger like the ones "in the commercial”.
And the verdict?
“My oh my, so that’s what meat tastes like, huh?” Hanline remarked.
“The commercial does it justice.”
The video of the 69-year-old’s first meal as a free man in 36 years has attracted more than one million views so far, at least one of which came from Carl’s Jr itself.
Michael (@CA_Innocence), thank you for choosing Carl's Jr./Hardee's. Hope you enjoyed it. Here's a few more. pic.twitter.com/VNmGUEcWZz
— Carl's Jr. (@CarlsJr) April 23, 2015
As if his hard won freedom wasn’t enough, Hanline now has a year’s worth of free burgers to look forward to and a new understanding of the perks viral content can offer.
Hanline was freed in November after a court over-turned his conviction for the murder of JT Garry and his sentence of life in prison without parole.
DNA evidence from the crime scene reportedly cleared Hanline of any involvement, amid suggestions prosecutors had withheld crucial evidence from his original trial.
But while he has technically been freed for several months, the real celebration started last week when a judge declared that the remaining charges against him would be dropped.
That was when the California Innocence Project decided to release a video of his first day as a free man and his mission to taste a burger like the ones he had watched on television for decades.
Morning news break – April 28
