Somerset's escape and habeas corpus application
- When
- October 1771
- Where
- Court of King's Bench, England
- Part of
- Somersett's Case
After Somerset escaped in October 1771 and was seized for sale in Jamaica, his friends sought a writ of habeas corpus from the Court of King's Bench.
Stewart had brought Somerset with him when he returned to England in 1769, but in October 1771 Somerset escaped. Friends of Somerset made an application in 1771 to the Court of King's Bench for a writ of habeas corpus, requiring the ship's captain to produce Somerset and asking the court to determine whether his imprisonment was lawful. The case concerned the right of a slave on English soil not to be forcibly removed from the country and sent to Jamaica for sale.
Sources
- Somerset v Stewart Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19
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