Bullington v. State

459 S.W.2d 334, 1970 Mo. LEXIS 829
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedNovember 9, 1970
Docket55046
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 459 S.W.2d 334 (Bullington v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bullington v. State, 459 S.W.2d 334, 1970 Mo. LEXIS 829 (Mo. 1970).

Opinion

BARDGETT, Judge.

This is an appeal by prisoner-petitioner from the judgment of the trial court denying his motion for relief under Supreme Court Rule 27.26, V.A.M.R., after a full evidentiary hearing.

On December 14, 1965, appellant was charged by indictment with three prior convictions of felonies and kidnaping while armed, to which appellant pleaded not guilty.

On the day the jury trial began, the state deleted the prior convictions from the indictment and the case proceeded on the charge of kidnaping while armed. The charging portion of the indictment is as follows:

“That ROBERT E. BULLINGTON between 10:00 P.M. on November 5th, 1965, *336 and 10.:00 A.M. on November 6th, 1965, in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, wilfully, feloniously, and without lawful authority did seize, confine, kidnap and abduct the person of [victim’s name], and caused [victim’s name] to be secretly confined against her will, and that the said ROBERT E. BURLINGTON, did commit the acts aforesaid while armed with a pistol; to-wit: a .32 caliber revolver; contrary to Section 559.230 and 556.140, Missouri Revised Statutes, 1959, in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State.”

Briefly, the evidence supported a jury finding that on November 5, 1965, appellant had a date with a girl whom he had dated several times on prior occasions. They returned from this date and parked in front of the girl’s house in St. Louis, Missouri. Appellant attempted to kiss her and to make sexual advances. She resisted and appellant forcibly held her in the car, took a gun from the glove compartment and put the gun against her ribs. She heard two clicks of the gun and appellant threatened to kill her if she continued to resist. Appellant took the girl, who testified she had never had intercourse before, to Illinois where he forced her under threat of death to have sexual intercourse with him twice. Appellant then drove the girl to her home and warned her not to call the police.

Instruction No. 1, inter alia, told the jury that if they found defendant guilty they could assess punishment at death or at imprisonment for such time as the jury deems proper; not less, however, than five years. The death penalty was sought by the state. The jury returned its verdict as follows: “We, the jury in the above entitled cause, find the defendant guilty of Kidnapping while Armed as charged and assess his punishment at imprisonment in the penitentiary for the remainder of his Natural Life.”

On November 10, 1966, the trial court entered up judgment and sentence on the verdict and sentenced the appellant to life imprisonment. Appellant then pleaded guilty to another charge of stealing over fifty dollars and was sentenced to five years to be served concurrently with the life sentence imposed on the kidnaping conviction. The instant motion and appeal does not involve the five-year sentence.

In appellant’s instant 27.26 motion and on this appeal, he asserts four grounds for setting aside the verdict, judgment and sentence on the kidnaping charge, to wit:

1. Appellant was indicted, tried, convicted and sentenced under the wrong statute, § 559.230, RSMo 1959 [1969] 1 (Kid-naping for Ransom), resulting in a life sentence; the offense established by the evidence, violation of § 559.240 (Kidnaping without Ransom), has a maximum of ten years.

2. Material evidence, obtained by the state during illegal custodial interrogation, was introduced at the trial in violation of appellant’s constitutional rights.

3. Appellant was denied effective assistance by counsel of his own choosing in violation of his constitutional rights.

4. The jury after selection, but before being sworn, was allowed to separate contrary to the intent of statute in capital cases.

Appellant’s first point is one of law and not of fact. The indictment alleges appellant kidnaped a girl and caused her “to be secretly confined against her will,” and that defendant “did commit the acts aforesaid while armed with a pistol; to-' wit: a .32 caliber revolver; contrary to Section 559.230 and 556.140, Missouri Revised Statutes, 1959, * * * ” It stands admitted that the element of ransom or reward was not charged, proved, nor Submitted and was not involved in this prosecution in any respect.

*337 Appellant’s position is that ransom or reward is an essential element to prosecution under § 559.230. Respondent’s position is that the enactment of § 559.230 in 1901 impliedly repealed § 559.240 and, therefore, § 559.230 is the only Missouri law relating to kidnaping and the element of ransom or reward is not an essential element to conviction under it.

There are two kidnaping statutes in Missouri. Section 559.240, entitled “Kid-naping”, first appears in the Revised Statutes of 1825 and, except for an amendment in 1909, has continued 'in substantially its original form to the present. It provides:

“559.240. Kidnaping
“1. If any person shall, wilfully and without lawful authority, forcibly seize, confine, inveigle, decoy or kidnap any person, with intent to cause such person to be sent or taken out of this state, or to be secretly confined within the same against his will, or shall forcibly carry or send such person out of this state against his will, he shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding ten years.
“2. Any person charged with such offense may be tried in any county into or through which the person so seized, inveigled, decoyed or kidnaped shall have been taken, carried or brought.”

In 1901 the legislature enacted the second kidnaping statute which is presently § 559.-230. It appears in its original form in Laws of Missouri 1901, p. 133, Forty-First General Assembly, as follows:

“[S.B. 33]
CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS: Kidnaping.
“AN ACT to provide for the punishment of any one guilty of kidnaping or carrying away any child or other person for purpose of obtaining ransom, with emergency clause.
“SECTION 1. Kidnaping for purpose of ransom punished by death or imprisonment at option of jury.
SECTION 2. Emergency clause,

“Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:.

Section 1.

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Bluebook (online)
459 S.W.2d 334, 1970 Mo. LEXIS 829, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bullington-v-state-mo-1970.