Howard Eugene Safrit v. Sam P. Garrison, Warden of Central Prison Rufus Edmisten, Attorney General of the State of North Carolina

HAYNSWORTH, Chief Judge:

Safrit, a North Carolina prisoner, sought habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, alleging that he was resentenced to a harsher term in violation of the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. The district court denied relief, and Safrit appealed. We reverse and remand with instructions to issue the writ, releasing Safrit immediately.

Safrit entered a guilty plea to charges of armed robbery and breaking and entering in 1973, when he was fifteen years old. He was sentenced to an indeterminate term “as a youthful offender.” Safrit apparently considered…