United States ex rel. Sleighter v. Banmiller

LORD, District Judge.

Relator’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus is before this Court for the second time. Our Order of May 21, 1957, denying his petition without opinion was vacated by the Court of Appeals for failure to indicate the reasons for our decision.

Relator was convicted in 1937 of first degree murder in the death of a six year old girl living as a foster child in relator’s home. The Commonwealth’s evidence, based mainly on relator’s confession, revealed that the child had died as the result of incredibly brutal corporal punishment administered by relator and his wife. According…