Allen Dale Canary v. Dr. David H. Bland, Commissioner of Corrections, Commonwealth of Kentucky

The law of Kentucky was unclear at the time of the 1973 habitual criminal trial of the prisoner, Allen Dale Canary. His innocence under Kentucky law, as it has now developed, is so clear, however, that we must grant the writ of habeas corpus in order to prevent a complete miscarriage of justice. If it reached the merits of the claim, it is quite certain that Kentucky’s highest court would now hold that Canary is not guilty of the habitual criminal conviction for which he is serving a sentence of life imprisonment because his 1968 conviction cannot be used as an offense under the habitual…