Georgia inmates to get reduced sentences after saving life of collapsed sheriff's deputy

Six inmates will face shorter prison sentences after springing into action to save the life of a Polk County sheriff's deputy.

The inmates were working in 100% humidity on work detail at a local cemetery when the deputy, who woke up not feeling well, collapsed, according to WHAS.

"Once I actually went down, I was already in one of my hyperventilating spells," the deputy, who did not want to be identified, said. "So at that point, I was just trying to breathe. I really wasn't thinking much, but just trying to get everything under control."

The inmates got help and removed the deputy's bulletproof vest to perform CPR. One inmate grabbed the officer's phone and called 911.

"None of my guys ran," the deputy said. "None of them did anything they shouldn't have done."

After their act of heroism, the inmates each will get about one-fourth of their sentences cut, according to Polk County Sheriff Johnny Moats.

"That moment when they’re out, they’re not really inmates to you," the unnamed deputy said. "They're just a group of guys and you’re out. You try to be more like friends and in my case, it just worked out for the better."

The Polk County Sheriff's office did not immediately respond to Mic's request for comment.

The original story about the inmates' heroic act, also on WHAS, received widespread praise online and was shared almost 4,000 times on Facebook. People praised the inmates and said they felt the story helped others look at those in prison differently.

"Proof that though one may make a bad choice, it doesn't mean he/she is a bad person," one commenter wrote.

"Being a criminal doesn't make you a heartless human being and I pray this makes us all look at the men and women doing work detail differently," another person said. "I said 'us' because as much as I hate admitting this I've been judgmental towards people in doing work detail myself before."