Everyone ____________________________ Virgil Spears.

In the local newspaper of my community recently, there was a story about a man named Virgil Spears. He lived in a small town about 40 miles from my home. He had served five years in a New York prison for robbing a restaurant. When he returned to his family, Mr. Spears couldn’t find a job. Everyone knew he had been in prison and nobody trusted him. Finally, in desperation, he calmly walked into a local barbershop where he was well known, pulled out a gun, and took all the money the barber had. Up to this point it had been a fairly routine crime, but then something unusual happened. Mr. Spears didn’t try to get away. He got into his car, drove slowly out of town, and waited for the police. When they caught him, he made only one request. He turned to the arresting policemen and said, "Would you please ask the court to put my family on welfare just as soon as possible?"
What was the reaction of people to him after Virgil Spears was released from prison?