Jesse Harding Pomeroy was an American convict from Massachusetts who became known as the youngest person in the state's history convicted of first-degree murder, earning the moniker the "Boy Fiend of Boston". Beginning around age 12 in 1871 and 1872, Pomeroy lured, tied up, beat, stabbed, and mutilated at least seven young boys in the Boston area. He was caught, convicted of assault, and sent to a reform school in Westborough. Authorities released him after about 16 months for good behavior. Soon after his release in 1874 at age 14, he murdered two children. Pomeroy was convicted and sentenced to hang in 1874, making him the youngest person in Massachusetts to receive a death sentence. The governor commuted his sentence to life imprisonment in solitary confinement.