Perry E. Rearden v. Lamont Smith, Warden, Georgia State Prison

This is an appeal from the denial of a writ of habeas corpus to Perry Eugene Rearden, who is serving a life sentence for murder, in a Georgia state prison.

To exhaust his state post-conviction remedies, Rearden filed a petition for habeas corpus in the City Court of Reidsville, Georgia, which denied relief. The appellant has alleged that he was unable to appeal from this judgment, due to his indigency.

Effective July 1, 1967, several months prior to the date on which the appellant’s Federal habeas petition was finally adjudicated, the State of Georgia enacted its new Habeas Corpus Act, Georgia…