Barton v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court
Barton v. State, 94 Miss. 375 (Miss. 1908)
47 So. 521
Whiteield

Barton v. State

Opinion of the Court

Whiteield, C. J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The indictment in this case was manifestly drawn under Code 1906, § 1359, a new statute first introduced by that code. That code went into effect October 1, 1906. The evidence shows *378conclusively that the alleged offense was committed September 1, 1906. No indictment, of course, could have been predicted of this statute for an offense committed before the statute was a law. This point was raised in the court below .and overruled. The trial was proceeded with, and the defendant convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for five years. Code 1906, § 1359, under which alone manifestly he was indicted—the indictment pursuing the very language of the statute—required the punishment to be for life, unless the jury fixed a shorter term. The verdict of the jury in this case simply found the defendant guilty as charged, without fixing any term of imprisonment at all, and yet the court imposed a sentence of five years. This was erroneous. The defendant was manifestly indicted under this section alone and could have been punished only under this section under an indictment framed specifically on the section with a verdict of guilty as charged in that indictment. The judgment, is reversed and the cause remanded.

• The defendant will be held to answer such proper indictment as may be presented against him.

Reversed.

Reference

Full Case Name
William Barton v. State of Mississippi
Cited By
2 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
1. Criminal Law and Procedure. Rape. Assault to. Indictment. Code 1906, § 1359. JSx post facto law. Code 1892, § 967. An indictment predicated of Code 1906, § 1359, a new statute making it a felony, punishable by imprisonment for life or such shorter time as the jury may fix, to assault with intent to forcibly ravish any woman of previous chaste character:— (а) Cannot be maintained by proof of acts committed before the statute because operative; nor (б) Be referred to Code 1892, § 967 (re-enacted Code 1906, § 1043), in force at the time of the acts, making it a felony, punishable by imprisonment not exceeding ten years, to assault a woman with intent to ravish her. 2. Same. Punishment. A defendant convicted of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary for life or such shorter time as the jury may fix, cannot, in the absence of a verdict fixing the imprisonment, be sentenced for a term of years fixed by the court.