United States v. Sain

Decision Date17 December 1958
Docket NumberNo. 12520.,12520.
Citation265 F.2d 660
PartiesUNITED STATES of America ex rel. Charles TOWNSEND, Appellant, v. Frank G. SAIN, Sheriff of Cook County; and Jack Johnson, Warden of the Cook County Jail, Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

George N. Leighton, William R. Ming, Jr., and Loring B. Moore, Chicago, Ill., for relator-appellant.

Benjamin S. Adamowski, State's Atty., and Edwin A. Strugala, Asst. State's Atty., Chicago, Ill., for respondents-appellees.

Before FINNEGAN, SCHNACKENBERG and KNOCH, Circuit Judges.

SCHNACKENBERG, Circuit Judge.

Charles Townsend, appellant, having procured an order from the district court granting leave to him to proceed in forma pauperis, has appealed from an order of the district court dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. That court granted him a certificate of probable cause for appeal.

It appears from motions filed in this court by appellant that he was sentenced to death, for the crime of murder, by the Criminal Court of Cook County, Illinois, on April 7, 1955, and that the execution of said sentence is now scheduled for Friday, December 19, 1958, at 12:01 A.M., in the Cook County Jail, in Chicago, Illinois.

His motion for leave to proceed in this court in forma pauperis will be allowed.

As to his motion for stay of execution until the disposition of this appeal, it appears that his conviction was affirmed by the Illinois Supreme Court, People v. Townsend, 11 Ill.2d 30, 141 N.E.2d 729. Certiorari was denied by the United States Supreme Court, 355 U.S. 850, 78 S.Ct. 76, 2 L.Ed.2d 60. Thereafter a post-conviction proceeding was filed by Townsend in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. At that time Townsend's present counsel had learned, and then presented to the court his contention, that a certain drug administered to Townsend at his request after his arrest, to relieve him of illness resulting from the deprivation of his customary use of drugs, had certain results affecting Townsend's memory. It is contended that this alleged fact made improper the admission in evidence at the trial of Townsend's written confession of the crime for which he had been convicted The Criminal Court held against Townsend on the post-conviction hearing. The Illinois Supreme Court denied a writ of error to review said action. It further appears that 17 hours elapsed between the administering of the drug for Townsend's relief and the signing by him of his confession, and that the...

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9 cases
  • United States ex rel. Townsend v. Twomey
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • January 21, 1972
    ...3 L.Ed.2d 115 (1958). United States ex rel. Townsend v. Sain, No. 58 C 2140 (N.D.Ill., filed Dec. 15, 1958), appeal dismissed, 265 F.2d 660 (7th Cir. 1958), vacated and remanded, 359 U.S. 64, 79 S.Ct. 655, 3 L.Ed.2d 634 (1959), No. 58 C 2140 (N.D.Ill., filed June 24, 1959), aff'd, 276 F.2d ......
  • United States v. Hoffa
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • September 14, 1967
    ...79 S.Ct. 128, 3 L. Ed.2d 115 (1958); post-conviction relief in federal District Court denied, appeal dismissed, United States ex rel. Townsend v. Sain, 265 F.2d 660 (CA 7, 1958), rev'd. and remanded, Townsend v. Sain, 359 U.S. 64, 79 S.Ct. 655, 3 L.Ed.2d 634 (1959); petition dismissed in Di......
  • Townsend v. Sain
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • March 18, 1963
    ...the Illinois Supreme Court rendered on direct appeal, denied the writ. The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed an appeal. 265 F.2d 660. However, this Court granted a petition for certiorari, vacated the judgment and remanded for a decision as to whether, in the light of the s......
  • Goodwin v. Cardwell
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • October 19, 1970
    ...79 S.Ct. 128, 3 L.Ed.2d 115 (1958); post-conviction relief in federal District Court denied, appeal dismissed, United States ex rel. Townsend v. Sain, 265 F.2d 660 (CA 7, 1958), rev'd and remanded, Townsend v. Sain, 359 U.S. 64, 79 S.Ct. 655, 3 L.Ed. 2d 634 (1959); petition dismissed in Dis......
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