The man who detonated bombs on Florida A&M University’s campus in 1999 will not be released from prison. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle resentenced Lawrence Lombardi to 54 years.
Prior to Thursday Lombardi had been serving what amounted to a life sentence. The two pipe bombs he set off at FAMU were in bathrooms—one in Lee Hall and the other in the Perry Paige building. Lombardi also made racially charged calls to local media alluding to more violence. While no one was hurt in the bombings, FAMU President Larry Robinson, an administrator on campus at the time, says hundreds of students withdrew from the school because they were afraid. Lombardi’s attorney Patricia Kyle was seeking to have him released.
“There were certain charges that Mr. Lombardi was charged with that were no longer eligible to be charged the way they were charged," said Kyle.
The courts agreed. Hinkle resentenced Lombardi based on the four remaining charges, two for placing the pipe bombs, and two for intentionally causing damage by means of an explosive. Lombardi has been in prison for 21 years. Now the 62-year-old will have to wait for another 33 before he’s eligible for release. Lombardi would be 95 and would serve another 3 years on probation.
