TAMPA — One summer night nearly a half-century ago, a 16-year-old boy snuck into an apartment on S Albany Avenue, stood over a sleeping woman and bashed her head five times with a hammer. As she lay bleeding, he raped her.

Leonard Edwards has paid for that crime with 46 years of his life.

Now he will go free.

Edwards, 62, saw his life sentence evaporate a few days ago. He is one of the longest continuously incarcerated Florida prisoners to benefit from a series of U.S. and Florida Supreme Court decisions that held it unconstitutional for juveniles to receive lengthy prison terms without a chance of release.

A defense attorney told a judge that Edwards is a changed man, that he has been well-behaved in recent years and that he has lined up a job and a place to live.

"He's paid his debt to society," Assistant Public Defender Joseph Larrinaga said. "He's kept his nose clean for a very long time and has proven that rehabilitation does work."

But then there was the victim. Now 68, she addressed the courtroom via phone, her voice breaking amid anguish that has never subsided.

"What this man did to me was horrendous," she said. "He was, and still is, a very dangerous person. My main objective is that he doesn't get the chance to hurt anyone else."

The crime occurred on July 6, 1972. The victim's roommate found her after 1 a.m., still conscious, lying in a blood-soaked bed. She had suffered several skull fractures.

Police believed the assailant was the same person who committed two robberies days earlier. Newspapers dubbed him "the Hammer Burglar."

It was a few months before Edwards was arrested. The case against him hinged on a jailhouse confession. Police said he also took credit for more than 60 burglaries, though he was never charged with those crimes.

In court, the teen claimed a detective had threatened him into confessing. He admitted trying to sneak into the victim's apartment, according to a 1972 Tampa Tribune story. But he said he only raised a window, then lowered it again when a car drove past.

Edwards remained steadfast in his claims of innocence, attempting to have his conviction overturned.

Then, in 2010, came the first in a string of Supreme Court opinions that opened the door to new sentences for defendants who committed serious crimes as juveniles.

At the core of those decisions was scientific research that showed juvenile brains are not fully developed, making teens less capable of understanding consequences.

Edwards became eligible for re-sentencing in 2016. Under new juvenile sentencing laws, the judge was required to consider specific factors, including the defendant's family background and maturity.

In a court paper, the defense attorney detailed Edwards' troubled upbringing.

He was the youngest of seven children, born to parents who were both illiterate, "violent alcoholics with criminal histories." He suffered physical abuse as a child. He saw someone throw a body into the Hillsborough River at age 8. He witnessed the murder of his friend's father at age 10.

Edwards has participated in numerous prison classes and self-betterment programs. He worked as a press operator, making car license plates for a prison-based manufacturing company. The same company has offered him a post-prison job. He plans to live with his sister in Tampa.

"A life sentence, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, is 39 years," Larrinaga said. "He has served more than a life sentence."

While prosecutors did not contest Edwards' release, they want him to be monitored.

Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Johnson noted two other incidents of sexual misconduct in the defendant's past.

One occurred in 1968, when he was accused of trying to commit a sex act on a mentally disabled person. Years later, in prison, Edwards and two other prisoners were accused of sexually assaulting another inmate.

The prosecutor expressed concern that Edwards has never received any kind of sex offender treatment.

"They're like an alcoholic," Johnson said. "It's not something they're going to be cured of."

Larrinaga countered that two psychological exams showed Edwards poses little risk of committing new crimes. His last disciplinary violation in prison was nine years ago. He argued that extensive restrictions would set him up for failure.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Tom Barber, while not discounting the potential for rehabilitation, emphasized the need to protect the community.

"I don't think we should let somebody out who has been in that long without keeping an eye on him," Barber said.

He imposed a 10-year probation sentence. He also ordered that Edwards participate in sex offender treatment classes.

"You're in a very, very unusual, unique position," the judge said. "Be very careful because, but for one vote on the U.S. Supreme Court, you'd be spending the rest of your life in prison."

"I'm aware of that," Edwards said.

Contact Dan Sullivan at dsullivan@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3386. Follow @TimesDan.