Nickerson v. State

The appellant, Sherman James Nickerson, appeals from the Jefferson County Circuit Court's denial of his "Petition for the Writ of Habeas Corpus," contesting the validity of his November 1987 conviction for second degree escape and the resulting split sentence of 15 years. In his petition, Nickerson alleged that (1) he was given no preliminary hearing; (2) he was indicted prior to his arrest; (3) the evidence was insufficient to support a charge of second degree escape (but sufficient to support a charge of third degree escape); and (4) the indictment was fatally defective because it did not…