Burall v. Johnson

HEALY, Circuit Judge.

In February 1939, after a jury trial in which he was represented by counsel, appellant was convicted in a federal court in Illinois of a violation of the postal laws —assaulting a custodian and robbing the mails — and was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of twenty-five years. He petitioned the court below for a writ of habeas corpus, asserting that he had been denied due process in that he was convicted on the evidence of a confession secured from him by duress, threats, and promises, being forced thereby to become a witness against himself. The petition was denied…