A 21-year-old man from Dublin found out Thursday morning that he would be released from prison Friday, after two years of a five-year sentence for burglary, officials said.

Curtavious Keyon Gainey did more than stay out of trouble, while he was incarcerated at the Burruss Correctional Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles spokesman Steve Hayes said. He also earned his high school diploma.

The parole board wanted to show prisoners that a “road map to success” exists, Hayes said.

Gainey wasn’t told ahead of time that he would be getting paroled, Hayes said, and the announcement was made in front of about 100 incarcerated men who would have wanted to go home early.

“Usually the inmate is notified by prison staff if they’ve received a parole release date,” Hayes said. “We wanted to do this in person in front of the other inmates at the facility.”

Gainey was eligible for parole in July and the parole board wanted to show others how Gainey’s preparation for a return to the real world helped in their decision to release him early.

James Mills, vice chairman of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, pointed out there is a difference in wanting to get out and being prepared to be back in society, the Macon Telegraph reported.

“You cannot change what happened,” he told them. “But you can change what happens right now.”

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