"And the petitioner further avers that the issue of said writ
of _habeas corpus_ and the discharge of your petitioner
thereunder were and are essential to defeat the execution of
the said conspiracy.
"And your petitioner further avers that the accusation of
crime against him, upon which said warrant was issued, is a
malicious and malignant falsehood, for which there is not even
a pretext; that he neither advised nor had any knowledge of
the intention of any one to commit the act which resulted in
the death of David S. Terry, and that he has not carried or
used any arm or weapon of any kind for nearly thirty years.
"All of which your petitioner is ready to establish by full
and competent proof.
"Wherefore your petitioner prays that he may be discharged
from said arrest and set at liberty.
"STEPHEN J. FIELD."
The facts alleged in this document were beyond dispute, and
constituted an outrageous crime, and one for which the conspirators
were liable to imprisonment for a term of six years, under section
5518 of the Revised Statutes of the United States. To this traverse
the counsel for the sheriff filed a demurrer, on the ground that it
did not appear by it that Justice Field was in custody for an act done
or omitted in pursuance of any law of the United States, or of any
order or process or decree of any court or judge thereof, and it did
not appear that he was in custody in violation of the Constitution
or any law or treaty of the United States.
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