Walter McKinley Harris v. John D. Rees, Superintendent, Kentucky State Reformatory

GILMORE, District Judge.

This appeal from the issuance of the writ of habeas corpus raises two questions: whether appellee exhausted his state remedies, and, if so, whether he was denied equal protection of the law when the Kentucky trial court refused to allow him to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis.

Appellee was convicted by a Boone County, Kentucky circuit court jury of armed robbery and murder, and was sentenced on January 4, 1974 to two consecutive life terms.

At the hearing before the district court’s magistrate, the parties stipulated to the following facts:

1. In late 1973, John C.…