"Thief of 'Wizard of Oz' Ruby Slippers Spared Prison Due to Illness"

The man who stole the iconic ruby red slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" in 2005, Terry Jon Martin, was not sentenced to prison time by a federal judge due to being terminally ill. He was ordered to pay restitution to the Judy Garland Museum and his attorney argued for a "time served" sentence, emphasizing Martin's lack of understanding of the slippers' cultural value. The FBI recovered the slippers in 2018, and the museum suffered financially after the theft. The slippers' owner plans to sell them after a worldwide tour, and the museum's directors expressed relief at having their names cleared but remain curious about the slippers' whereabouts during the 12 years they were missing.