DULUTH, Minn. (NEWSnet/AP) — A dying man who confessed to stealing a pair of ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” was given no prison time.

Terry Jon Martin showed little emotion as Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz announced the sentence Monday at a hearing.

Martin, 76, stole the slippers in 2005 from Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He gave into temptation after a former associate with connections to the mob told him the shoes are adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value.

In October 2023, Martin pleaded guilty to theft of a major artwork, admitting to using a hammer to smash glass of the museum door and display case to take the slippers.

FBI had recovered the shoes in 2018, when someone else tried to claim a reward. 

Both sides recommended that the judge sentence Martin to time served because he is housebound in hospice care and is expected to die within six months.

Federal sentencing guidelines would recommended a sentence of 4 1/2 years to 6 years. Another prosecution filing said both sides agreed he should pay $23,500 in restitution to the museum, even though he apparently does not have the money.

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