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In the matter of the application of Alson B. Cole for a writ of habeas corpus

January 14, 1920 - August 23, 1920

Petitioned on January 14, 1920

Filed before the US District Court for the Lincoln Division of the District of Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Filed before the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Omaha, Nebraska)

Case ID: hc.case.ne.1489

Case Summary

Alson Cole pled guilty to murder in the Howard County, Nebraska district court in March 1918. According to his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, Cole was then convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death without a trial. After unsuccessfully applying for habeas relief in federal district court, Cole appealed the decision to the eighth circuit. The court of appeals dismissed the case as frivolous and remanded Cole to the custody of his jailer.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

  • Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

  • First degree murder

Sites of significance

Outcome

Writ dismissed

Fate of bound party

Remained in custody

Case Citation

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2009, U.S. District Court for the Lincoln Division of the District of Nebraska, Series: Criminal Dockets, 1907-1955, Vol. 2: Apr 1919 - Jun 1923, p. 56; Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2009, U.S. District Court for the Lincoln Division of the District of Nebraska, Series: Judge's Dockets, 6/3/1897-12/30/1911, Vol. 2: May 1917 - May 1930, pp. 24, 29, 32; Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2009, U.S. District Court for the Lincoln Division of the District of Nebraska (1907- ), Series: Law Case Files, 1907-1938, No. 284 Law

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 31 and 40 pages

Related petitions

Repository(s)

State

  • Nebraska

Point(s) of law cited

U.S. Const. amend. V|U.S. Const. amend. XIV, Section 9130 of the Revised Statutes of 1913 of the State of Nebraska|Nebraska State Constitution

Tag(s)

  • Death penalty
  • Appeal
  • 14th amendment

People

Citation

Katrina Jagodinsky, Cory Young, Andrew Varsanyi, Laura Weakly, Karin Dalziel, William Dewey, Erin Chambers, Greg Tunink. “In the matter of the application of Alson B. Cole for a writ of habeas corpus.” Petitioning for Freedom: Habeas Corpus in the American West, 1812-1924, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Accessed November 24, 2024. https://petitioningforfreedom.unl.edu/cases/item/hc.case.ne.1489

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