Wright v. Matthews

Invoking our original jurisdiction, the petitioner William Ernest Wright seeks a writ of habeas corpus directing his release from a State farm where he is confined for failure to pay the costs of criminal prosecutions.

By a pro se petition, Wright first sought a writ of mandamus directing the judge of the Circuit Court of Washington County, who presided at Wright’s criminal trials, to release him from custody. We treated that petition as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and appointed Guy T. Tripp, III, Esquire, of the Richmond bar, as Wright’s counsel.

-Counsel filed an amended habeas…