Colorado Gov. Jared Polis pardoned the couple convicted of staging a ruse that captivated and confused the nation several years ago.
Richard and Mayumi Heene, the perpetrators of the “balloon boy” hoax in which 6-year-old Falcoln Heene was falsely reported to have floated away in a duct-taped helium balloon, sent Colorado authorities on a wild-goose chase in October 2009 in a spectacle that temporarily shut down Denver International Airport. The resultant rescue mission cost at least $14,500.
Polis argued that the Heenes had repaid their debt to society by virtue of the unrelenting publicity that they endured in the incident’s aftermath.
“We are all ready to move past the spectacle from a decade ago that wasted the precious time and resources of law enforcement officials and the general public,” said Polis, who also granted clemency to 20 others, in a statement. “Richard and Mayumi have paid the price in the eyes of the public, served their sentences, and it’s time for all of us to move on. It’s time to no longer let a permanent criminal record from the balloon boy saga follow and drag down the parents for the rest of their lives.”
Richard Heene appeared to make a tongue-in-cheek reference to the incredulity of the situation in his comments to the Denver Post.
“As soon as I come down, I’ll let you know,” Heene said. “I’m flying high. This is just fantastic.”
