Prisoner Review Board Releases Final Illinoisan Serving Life Sentence…

In a selfie shared with Capitol News Illinois, Charles Collins prepares for his first Christmas at home in 14 years. (Photo submitted)

For at least two hours of the ride home, Charles Collins feared someone was following his father’s car, looking to take him back to prison for the rest of his life.

At an interstate rest stop between Western Illinois Correctional Center and Chicago, Collins said the reality of his freedom settled in and he let go of the anxiety. He would be with his family for Christmas for the first time in 14 years.

“It’s going to be a party, that’s for sure,” he said during an interview on Monday.

Collins, 49, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in relation to a 2010 charge for cocaine possession with intent to sell. It was his third felony, making him eligible for an enhanced sentence under the state’s habitual criminal, or “three-strikes,” law. He had two prior felonies on drug trafficking charges from 1998 to 2007 that made him…