Dolan's Case
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Petition for a writ of habeas corpus, representing that the petitioner was illegally imprisoned and restrained of his liberty by Gideon Haynes, the warden of the state prison; heard by the chief justice, and reserved for the determinatio a of the full court, on facts agreed substantially as follows: The petitioner was in the custody of the warden, and confined in the state prison, from January 20, 1864, to the time of the hearing, February 24, 1869, (except as hereinafter…
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Petition for a writ of habeas corpus, representing that the petitioner was illegally imprisoned and restrained of his liberty by Gideon Haynes, the warden of the state prison; heard by the chief justice, and reserved for the determinatio a of the full court, on facts agreed substantially as follows: The petitioner was in the custody of the warden, and confined in the state prison, from January 20, 1864, to the time of the hearing, February 24, 1869, (except as hereinafter stated,) under and by virtue of two warrants of commitment issued by the superior court. The first warrant, dated January…
1Opinion of the CourtWells, J.
The petitioner seeks to be discharged on the ground that the term for which he was committed has expired by mere lapse of time; although the period of his actual imprisonment has been less than that for which he was sentenced, by reason of his escape and absence at large for nearly a year during the time.
We are of opinion that the sentence of the law is to be satisfied only by the actual suffering of the imprisonment imposed, unless remitted by death or by some legal authority. The punisment is imprisonment, the period of which is expressed only by the designated length of time. Neither the…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Johnson's v. Wiseman'sCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1863
3Cited by51 opinions
- Anderson v. CorallSupreme Court of the United States · 1923
- Blitz v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1894
- White v. PearlmanCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 1930
- Neal v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1898
- Howard v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1896
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