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Judge gives remorseful inmate second chance

The sex offender and arsonist was originally sentenced in November to 10 years in prison.

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published February 13, 2007

INVERNESS - In November, Jason Aron Hall faced a judge known for his tough sentences - and Hall got one.

Last week, Hall asked for a second chance, and the same judge released him from prison in exchange for 10 years of probation.

Hall, 19, was sent to prison for 10 years by Circuit Judge Ric Howard after being found guilty of having consensual sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend and setting a fire that damaged a wooden pavilion owned by the Beverly Hills Recreation Association.

Hall entered an open plea to the charges, in effect placing himself at the mercy of the judge.

"No! He goes to prison today," Howard said during the late November sentencing.

On Friday, a shaken Hall reappeared before Howard after his public defender filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider.

Howard converted Hall's prison sentence to 10 years of a special probation for sex cases. In addition, Hall must stay away from the Beverly Hills Recreation Association.

The pavilion would have cost about $25,000 to replace if the work had been done by professionals, said Mike Colbert, a vice president of the association. Instead, volunteers rebuilt it at a cost of $6,000 to $8,000, Colbert said Monday.

He said he supported the judge's decision to exchange the prison sentence for probation.

"All of us on the board felt that restitution was preferable to jail," Colbert said. "If he could find $5,000 over the next few years, we'd be ecstatic."

The judge in November ordered Hall to pay restitution.

Jorge Sanchez can be reached at sanchez@sptimes.com or 860-7313 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 7313.

[Last modified February 12, 2007, 22:40:50]