A 79-year-old man who has been behind bars since the age of 15 has turned down the opportunity to taste freedom. 

Joseph Ligon was offered parole but refused it, saying he had been in jail for long enough to be released outright without the need for any supervision. 

Mr Ligon is believed to be the world's longest-serving juvenile prisoner, having been jailed back in 1953 in relation to the murder of two men in Philadelphia. He denies any role in the killings. 

“He doesn’t want to be on probation or parole. He just wants to be released," a spokesman for the Defender Association of Philadelphia told the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Marsha Levick, who co-founded law firm Juvenile Law Centre, felt Mr Ligon had a point.

"They want him to go before a parole board. I mean, seriously? It's pointless to keep him in prison," she said.

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