Wayne Johnson v. United States

Appellant is an Indian who formerly lived on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona where the events here described occurred. According to his own testimony, he was driving in his car, accompanied by four juveniles, also Indians, on July 5, 1956. Appellant was then 27 years of age; two of his companions were 17, and two were 15. The boys wanted to return to a tavern where they had been before, so they could attack another Indian, one Antone, with whom one of them had had an altercation. Appellant drove them back; Antone was taken into the car, then appellant drove them out into the desert. Antone was taken out, beaten and left lying as the others drove off. Later, appellant and his companions drove back where Antone had been left. Antone was beaten and attacked again. (In the process Antone had been stripped, a cross carved on his back, and his sex organs cut off.) Appellant and his boy companions then left Antone to die.

When appellant and the two older boys were indicted for murder appellant employed an attorney chosen by him through his mother to handle his defense. He pleaded not guilty. The lawyer interviewed him frequently. He also interviewed the attorneys for the…