The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-17
Military Prisoners Bring Suits
to Secure Release.
Wholesale Allegations Of Irreg
ularities in Court Martial.
NINE ACTIONS BEGUN.
If These Are Successful More
Will Follow.
Thomas Gaffney the First to
Profit by Mistake.

Twenty habeas corpus cases which
may result in an almost wholesale de-
livery of military prisoners from the
federal penitentiary at Leavenworth
have been brought in the circuit court
of appeals and viii be heard before that
court at its sitting in St. Paul in May.
The prisoners base their hopes of liber-
alton upon the release of Thomas Gaff-
ney, who was set free upon the order
of the war department after several
months of litigation over habeas corpus
proceedings. The new cases resemble
Gaffney's in many particulars and in
volve technical points of military regu-
lation.
United States Marshal Mackey went
to Leavenworth Thursday to serve the
writs issued by the court at St. Louis.
the service being made upon Warden
Robert McLaughery But four writs
have so far been placed in the hands of
the marshal but the others win ap-
pear soon. The Thomas Gaffney case
has apparently suggested the more re-
cent ones and the prisoners have placed
themselves in the hands of able attor
neys and entertain strong hopes of Sc
curing their liberty. Ganney was SEN
fenced by a military court martial in
the Philippines. His sentence directed
that he be dishonorably discharged
from service and that he be confined at
hard labor at such place as the review
ing authority directed. The reviewing
authority happened to be General
Wheaton. who approved the conviction
and sentenced CARNEY to prison on
Alcatraz Island off the coast of Call
fornia. subsequently the prisoner was
transferred to Leavenworth where he
was put to work
habeas corpus Gaffney cited the army
regulations which had been drawn up
by President Cleveland and were, he
claimed. as binding as federal statutes
One section of these regulations states
that when a military court has SEN
fenced a prisoner to confinement at @
post no power is competent to increase
the sentence by designating = perlften-
tiary as the place of Imprisonment
Carney alleged that inasmuch as the
court martial directed that he should be
confined al a place" General Wheat ton
exceeded his authority in having him
placed in the Leavenworth penitentiary,
that the word place" meant a post
and that the imposition of a peniten-
tiary sentence was an increase of the
original penalty and therefore Illegal
The matter having been brought to the
attention of the war department, Gaff-
ney was released while his civil suit in
the appellate court was pending. The
point has therefore never been decided
by civil procedure
In several of the now pending actions
precisely the same point has been
raised. In others it is asserted that un-
der the regulations the sentence of Z
military prisoner to hard labor is not
legal and the fight for release will be
made on this ground When these
cases are decided by the appellate court
if the finding pronounceS the imposition
of the sentence to have been unlawful
the prisoners may he sent back TO the
point at which they were convicted to
be resentenced. In that case their even
tual liberation viii be almost certain on
account of the difficulty of reassembling
so eVanescent a thing as military
court martial 1t is improbable that the
war department will see fit to release 50
large number of prisoners, although
All effort is being made to have thaS
done on the strength of the Gafney
precedent. No explanation of the ac-
ton of the department was made here
at the time of Garney's release few
days since. but it is supposed that his
contentious were by the department
judged to be based upon good and suffl-
cient grounds
The names Of the prisoners now
known to be making an effort for re-
lease through habeas corpus proceed edin6s
are J. r. DeDD, @. r. Langan, r. II
Sechler. John H Norris. E NJ Brodie,
H Ceking. and John Smelzer- The sen
tences of these prisoners range from two
years to life imprisonment, and all con-
victions were made within the pasN
/ three or four years, the greater part
within the 2aSt year.