George Purves seeks a writ of habeas corpus to release his slave named Jim from the custody of John M. Bell, Sheriff of the Parish of Orleans. Purves represents that Jim has been imprisoned “under the protest of a judgment and judicial order of commitment” issued in “the Case of the State of Louisiana vs the Slave Jim No. 517.” Jim was accused of giving passes to slaves and sentenced to a fine of $50 or a one-month confinement in jail. According to Purves, the sentence is illegal because “there is no law or statute of the State of Louisiana making” the act of giving passes “as criminal or punishable in a slave.” Purves therefore prays for a writ of habeas corpus and asks that his slave be set at liberty and delivered to him.
Result: Denied.
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Repository: New Orleans Public Library, New Orleans, Louisiana
