By Alabama Public Radio
Tuscaloosa AL – Three men who pleaded guilty to a string of church arsons last year will seek youthful offender status as their case moves along. Lawyers for Matthew Cloyd, Russell Lee DeBusk and Benjamin Nathan Moseley hope the move will reduce their eventual punishment. Cloyd was 20 at the time of his arrest last year, and Moseley and DeBusk were both 19. If classified as youth offenders, they would face a maximum of three years in jail and their court records would be sealed. Prosecutors say they don't expect the request to be granted, saying, "We plan to send them off to prison longer than three years." A hearing has been scheduled for April 12 to consider the request. That hearing will come three days after the men are scheduled to be in federal court for their sentencing. Each also faces a minimum of seven years in federal prison for the spree of fires. They face state arson charges in Bibb Greene, Pickens and Sumter counties.