By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Two sex offenders sentenced in Escambia County Circuit Court to life in prison with the possibility of parole — a Flomaton man and a man whose city of residence could not be determined — were each turned down for supervised release from prison after recent hearings by the Alabama Board of Pardons & Paroles.
The pair have spent a collective 78 years behind bars.
Dewayne Scott Cunningham of Flomaton was convicted here in 1996 of first-degree rape and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. He also had a 10-year sentence tacked on in 2009 after he was convicted of second-degree assault inside prison walls.
He had spent more than 27 years in prison on the date of his parole hearing. He will never be released unless he is granted parole or pardon.
Jerry Jerome Butler was convicted in Escambia County Circuit Court in 1980 of first-degree rape and first-degree burglary. He was also convicted in Montgomery County in 1972 of first-degree burglary and was reportedly serving that sentence when the local conviction occurred.
He has spent nearly 51 years behind state bars and will remain there for the rest of his life unless he is granted parole or a pardon.