Keister v. Cox

WIDENER, District Judge.

This petition for habeas corpus was filed in forma pauperis by James C. Keister, a prisoner of Virginia, who was convicted of first degree murder in the Circuit Court of Rockingham County on July 21, 1966, and sentenced to 35 years in the penitentiary.

The homicide took place on December 29, 1965. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) was decided June 13, 1966; Keister was tried July 20-21, 1966; thus the Miranda rules apply to Keister’s confession. *1174Johnson v. New Jersey, 384 U.S. 719, 86 S.Ct. 1772, 16 L.Ed.2d 882 (1966).

Keister was…