Age Technicality May Free Convicted Youth
A young man sentenced to reform school for burglary finds a path to freedom after it is revealed he is over the legal age for juvenile detention.
The story, cleaned up
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Because of a mix-up over the age of Frank Sexton, a young man convicted of burglary last spring, the chances are that he will regain his liberty in a few days, although convicted of a crime and sentenced to the reform school at Chehalis. At the trial, Sexton was believed to be 16 years old and was sentenced to the reform school upon that assumption. It developed later that his real age is 22, which would make him a candidate for a penitentiary sentence. Once the mistake was discovered, he was brought back to the county jail. As a result of deliberations it has been decided he cannot be re-sentenced to the penitentiary. Supt. Reed, of the reform school, refused to provide him food and lodging, and there is no charge against him at the jail. It is believed that habeas corpus proceedings will compel the court to restore him to liberty.
“Because of a mix-up over the age of Frank Sexton... the chances are that he will regain his liberty in a few days.”
The intersection of age, criminal sentencing, and administrative errors is a recurring theme in legal reporting, highlighting the rigidity of the justice system and the ways procedural loopholes can upend court rulings.
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