Johnnie Brown v. Vernon L. Pepersack, Warden Maryland Penitentiary

HAYNSWORTH, Circuit Judge:

Much tried Johnnie Brown, whose rights have received extensive and sympathetic care by the Courts of Maryland, now seeks his release through a writ of habeas corpus in the federal courts. The District Court denied the writ, we think properly.

Johnnie Brown, a Negro, killed a policeman in Salisbury, Maryland, after he had been placed under arrest on forgery charges. There was never any question about the homicide, and Brown’s only possible defense was that the killing was accidental, or not premeditated.

After Brown was indicted for murder by a Wicomico County Grand…