Six months into a six-year prison sentence, former Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Johnny Jolly has been released from a Texas prison, a Houston televison station reported Tuesday.
Jolly applied for — and was granted — “shock probation,” according to KTRK-TV. Jolly was released on probation, KTRK reported, because he experienced the shock or trauma of being in jail. Jolly, 29, was eligible for the program because he was a first-time prisoner.
Though he is no longer imprisoned, the report said, Jolly will be required to serve 10 years of shock probation and perform 200 hours of community service.
Jolly's legal issues stem from his admitted addiction to and possession of codeine.
He reportedly possessed 600 grams of the narcotic in his vehicle during a traffic stop in March 2011. In 2008, he was arrested for possessing at least 200 grams of codeine and was ordered by the court to avoid drugs and undergo treatment at an inpatient facility for 90 days. But he was arrested on a separate drug charge after the 2009 season and was subsequently suspended by the NFL for an indefinite period.
Jolly, a 2006 sixth-round pick of the Packers out of Texas A&M, played four years in Green Bay. He started all 16 games in his two most recent NFL seasons, 2008 and 2009.
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