CENTENNIAL — A man sentenced to 98 years in prison but then mistakenly released decades early appealed to a judge Wednesday to allow him to return to the law-abiding life he built during his brief period of freedom.

But Rene Lima-Marin’s fate remains in limbo three years after he was returned to prison when a former prosecutor discovered the clerical error. During an evidentiary hearing for writ of habeas corpus, Judge Carlos Samour Jr. said he’d take his time before issuing an order at the Arapahoe County District Court.

“I’m not going to give you a time frame because I want to take my time with it,” Samour said.

Lima-Marin, 38, was sentenced to 98 years for his role in a pair of 1998 video store robberies when he was 19 years old. No one was hurt during the robberies and Lima-Marin claimed the gun used was unloaded.

“I’ve been taken away from my children and my wife. I don’t even know how to explain that that’s the thing that’s consistently on my mind every single day,” Lima-Marin said during the hearing as emotion washed over both him and the courtroom. “I’m supposed to be the head of my household, I’m the person … I’m the person that’s supposed to guide and lead them of everything that’s of God, and I’ve been taken away from them.”.

In a surprising turn, Lima-Marin was released in 2008 when a clerical error counted his eight sentences concurrently instead of consecutively.

Once released, he had five spotless years on parole, rose through low-wage work to a union job as a glazier, married and raised two sons in a home he bought in Aurora.

But Lima-Marin’s second chance was taken away when his accidental release was discovered in 2014 after his former prosecutor happened to check on his whereabouts. His sentence was reinstated and he was brought back to prison.

Lima-Marin’s wife, Jasmine, said she felt confident after the hearing, although she said she wished her husband was coming home immediately. Wednesday was the first time in months that she had seen her husband in person.

“I would probably prefer that (the judge) takes his time and considers everything,” she said. “I’m still hoping for a positive outcome.”

Lima-Marin’s family and friends, along with faith leaders from Together Colorado, gathered in front of the courthouse Wednesday morning to share prayers and express hope for his release.

“We’ve been waiting three years for this hearing, and I’m just praying that today he gets to come home,” Jasmine said while tearing up. “Today is pretty much the determining factor of what’s going to happen to our family for the rest of our lives.”

As the faith leaders called on God’s strength, forgiveness and justice, Lima-Marin’s parents held “Free Rene” signs. His mother looked to the sky, saying her own silent prayer with tears in her eyes.

After the calls for justice, more than 35 people packed into the courtroom to show their support for Lima-Marin, who was wearing a light-gray sports jacket, black slacks and decorative tie.

His family sat in the front row, one of his sons sitting on his grandfather’s lap. His mother shook with emotion at times, at one point muttering a prayer. After his testimony, he waved at his family and gave his son a big smile.

During the hearing, Lima-Marin admitted he had made a mistake but said he served the appropriate amount of time for his crime.

“I was a stupid child, a dumb kid that made a mistake. I was given trumped-up charges for who knows what reason,” he said. “I deserve to be punished, I admit that, but not 98 years.”

Attorneys with the Colorado Department of Corrections questioned whether Lima-Marin knew he was released erroneously, which he said he didn’t. Instead, “all I knew was my prayers had been answered.”

They also argued that it would not be fair for Lima-Marin to get off early due to a clerical error while his partner in the robberies, Michael Clifton, is still serving his 98-year sentence.

The attorneys pointed to the case of Evan Ebel, someone mistakenly released early from prison who then killed prisons director Tom Clements.

The crowd in the courtroom grumbled at the state’s arguments and at times turned to their faith, saying, “This is in your hands, God.”

After the hearing, Lima-Marin’s attorney Jamie Halscott criticized the Department of Corrections’ attempts to prove that Lima-Marin knew his release was a mistake, saying the state was trying to depict him as a Lex Luthor-like criminal mastermind gaming the system.

“Obviously, when the state doesn’t have much to go on, that’s what they’re going to say,” Halscott said.

Lima-Marin enlisted Halscott, a Florida appeals specialist, after the firm at which he is a managing partner won a similar case in Missouri.

During the hearing, Jasmine told a story about when her husband wore his favorite red jacket to a pizza parlor during a rough snowstorm. When he left the restaurant, he wasn’t wearing the jacket.

When she asked him where it went, he said a homeless man had complimented him on his jacket, so he gave it to him.

“He’s a changed person. He’s been rehabilitated,” Jasmine said. “He’s shown that he can be a productive member of society. I don’t think it’s going to accomplish anything by making him spend his life in prison.”