Thomas Picken McGarrity v. Dr. George J. Beto, Director

Thomas McGarrity, a prisoner of the State of Texas, has appealed from the district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The district court held an evidentiary hearing at which McGarrity and several other witnesses testified. At the hearing McGarrity was represented by court-appointed counsel.

McGarrity was tried by a jury in Texas state court and convicted of statutory rape of a twelve-year-old girl. On December 2, 1969, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. There was no direct appeal, but the petitioner, as the district court held, has properly exhausted his available…