Gerald Smith v. William Armontrout

On August 11, 1988, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri entered judgment denying Gerald Smith’s petition for writ of habeas corpus. Mr. Smith is under sentence of death for capital murder, and his sentence is presently scheduled to be carried out, according to the order of the Supreme Court of Missouri, on October 4, 1988.

We have before us a number of documents: a notice of appeal filed by court-appointed counsel, purportedly on behalf of Mr. Smith; a letter purporting to come from Mr. Smith to the Clerk of this Court, stating that he did not wish to appeal…