The PEOPLE v. Harden

A jury in the circuit court of Lee County found the defendant, Palestine Harden, guilty of theft, and she was sentenced to a term of from 3 to 6 years in the Illinois State Reformatory for Women. She has appealed directly to this court asserting, among other grounds for reversal, that the statute under which she was convicted is unconstitutional.

On November 21, 1964, the defendant entered Trein’s Jewelry Store, in Dixon, Illinois, and asked to see some rings. The store was owned by a partnership consisting of Gordon Brantley and his wife. While Brantley was showing the rings to the defendant,…