State ex rel. Stafford v. Hawk

Dent, Judge:

To a writ of mandamus nisi requiring the warden of the penitentiary to receive and confine therein Elias Hatfield, Jr., convicted in the circuit court of Mingo County for murder, and sentenced to imprisonment' for twelve years, the return is made that the governor had granted a reprieve for thirty days to permit the prisoner to appfy to this Court for a writ of error. To this return the relator demurs as insufficient, on the sole ground that the governor has no power to reprieve except in capital offenses. Section 10, Article VIL, of the Constitution provides: “The governor shall…