Commonwealth of Virginia v. Harold Lee Jones

Appellant, Harold Lee Jones, a Negro convict incarcerated in the Virginia State Penitentiary, stands indicted in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, charged with killing a prison guard. He filed a petition for removal of the pro ceedings there pending against him to the District Court claiming the right of removal under the provisions of 28 U.S.C § 1443(1) (1964). That statute permits removal of a criminal prosecution by a defendant “who is denied or cannot enforce in the courts of * * * [a] State a right under any law providing for the equal civil rights of citizens of the United…