Hanks v. Warden of the Maryland Penitentiary

Napoleon Hanks, Jr., was indicted, along with three other persons, for robbery with a deadly weapon. At his arraignment in the Criminal Court of Baltimore on October 5, 1961, he pleaded “not guilty.” Subsequently, in open court on October 19, 1961, he changed his plea to guilty, and Hanks and his three fellow felons were each sentenced to twenty years in the Maryland Penitentiary by Judge Joseph Carter. No appeal was taken. (At both of the above mentioned proceedings Hanks was represented by counsel employed by his family.)

On January 23, 1963, Hanks filed a petition under the Uniform Post…