Cannellas v. McKenzie

Neely, Justice:

The petitioner, Joe Cannellas, was tried by a McDowell County jury upon an indictment for forcible rape of a sixteen year old girl. The jury returned a verdict of guilty with a recommendation of mercy, and on December 19, 1975, the petitioner was sentenced by the Circuit Court of McDowell County to a term of from ten to twenty years in the West Virginia Penitentiary. Petitioner then filed a petition for a writ of error in this Court, and on September 13, 1976, the petition was denied. The primary ground alleged for habeas corpus relief is that petitioner was ineffectively…