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The 14-Year-Old Boy Sentenced To 3 Years For Stealing A Penny
There have been many strange punishments for a variety of crimes in American history, including lengthy sentences for smaller transgressions
The American justice system has long been simultaneously held up as a shining beacon of excellence and also as a cautionary tale of excess. While the most likely realistic assessment lies somewhere in between, there is no denying that there have been some truly bizarre stories of crime and punishment over the years. One of the strangest has to be the story of 14-year-old Michael Petite, who was sentenced to serve a three-year sentence in a reformatory more than a century ago after he stole a penny from a neighborhood child.
The March 29, 1906 issue of the Chicago Tribune detailed an unusual robbery in New York City that had just been adjudicated with a harsh sentence for the perpetrator. Earlier that week, 10-year-old Priscilla Summers was given a penny by her father and told to go to the corner store to buy a newspaper after the family finished their dinner.
Unfortunately, when Priscilla reached her destination, she was spotted by Petite, an older boy with a reputation for being a bully, despite being described as being smaller for his age. He inquired where…
