Fugitive on lam since 1959 now fighting extradition

Author: Associated Press
Published:

COCOA, Fla. (AP) – A judge says she will take some time before deciding whether a fugitive who had been on the lam since walking away from a prison farm in 1959 can contest his extradition back to Ohio after a recent arrest in Florida.

Judge Rhonda Babb reserved ruling on the issue during a hearing Thursday. She promised to rule by Tuesday, when Ohio officials have arrangements to fly him back.

Last week, 79-year-old Frank Freshwater waived extradition, but attorney Bryan Savy asked Babb to void it. Freshwater testified that he “wasn’t thinking straight” when he signed papers before an initial court appearance. Savy also said Freshwater wasn’t told he could procure his own lawyer.

Freshwater was arrested in Brevard County after sheriff’s deputies matched his fingerprints to his decades-old arrest.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 1957.

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