Arley Ward v. Ray H. Page, Warden, Oklahoma State Penitentiary

HILL, Circuit Judge.

The appeal is from an order denying and dismissing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought by a state prisoner.

In 1947 a state court indictment was returned against appellant Ward for first degree murder. A jury was empaneled and sworn and after two days of trial Ward pled guilty to a lesser included offense, first degree manslaughter. The jury was dismissed and a sentence of forty years was imposed. In 1961 Ward began state habeas corpus proceedings to set aside the original sentence. When the state court denied the writ, 1 a similar petition was filed in the…