Commonwealth Ex Rel. Butler v. Rundle

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Roberts,

The facts of the case before us need be presented only in their brief essentials. In 1940, Leon Butler was arrested and, during his arrest, confessed to murder. Butler had no counsel at his preliminary hear ing, although two court-appointed attorneys represented him when the case was tried before a jury on defendant’s plea of not guilty. The confession was introduced into evidence and the trial transcript is replete with testimony by the defense attempting to establish that Butler was beaten and coerced into giving an involuntary confession.

Basing his petition on…