Campbell v. State

179 S.W.2d 547, 147 Tex. Crim. 192, 1944 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 893
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 15, 1944
DocketNo. 22797.
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 179 S.W.2d 547 (Campbell v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Campbell v. State, 179 S.W.2d 547, 147 Tex. Crim. 192, 1944 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 893 (Tex. 1944).

Opinions

GRAVES, Judge.

Appellant was charged by indictment with rape by force on the person of Neoma Cook, and by the jury convicted and given a term of five years in the penitentiary.

The prosecutrix was the wife of a soldier overseas, and the mother of an eight months old baby. She lived at Skellytown with her father and mother, and she, in company with another woman, obtained a ride with appellant in his car to Pampa. While there appellant assisted her in renting a room from Mrs. Gibson, and appellant then offered to take the prosecutrix and her companion back to Skellytown for her effects, agreeing to return her to Pampa. Appellant gave Mrs. Cook and her parents a different name than his true name, and promised to take good care of Mrs. Cook. He took her grip and a box of dishes and kitchen utensils and placed them in his car, and started back to Pampa. When he neared that town he stated that he would turn off the road a short distance to see his brother, and when going near a carbon plant he turned around a building where explosives were kept and stopped the car, and requested that prosecutrix allow him to get into her breeches. This she refused to do, and he then pitched her belonging out of the car, prosecutrix having gotten out, and drove off and left her out in the country with no houses near. Prosecutrix had a doll she had purchased for her baby, and with that in her hand she started to walk to town. Soon appellant stopped his car and came back to where he had dumped her belongings out and picked them up and put them back in the car, and told prosecutrix to come and get in the car. This she refused to do; he then got out of the car and came back to her, picked her up, and, despite her struggles, he carried her back and put her in the car, and raped her, she struggling and screaming, and honking the car horn until she broke it. He did not have to remove her panties, because the ones she had on were too large, being the .ones used by her dur *194 ing her recent pregnancy. Appellant then started driving into Pampa with her, but she was screaming so that he drove on and put her out on the other side of town. Prosecutrix soon found a phone and reported the matter to the officers. She was examined by a doctor two days thereafter, who testified she had bruises on her body and an ulcerated condition in her vagina, evidencing some recent force therein.

Appellant’s version of this matter agrees with that of prosecutrix as far as the stopping near the house containing the explosives, also with her refusal to let him “into’ her breeches,” also as to her getting out of the car, and his putting her things out; that he then decided to go back for her, and tried to persuade her to get back in the car, and she refused, and he “tried to talk to her and reason with her, and she commenced hollering and screaming, and finally I said, ‘Get on back in the car.. I don’t want to bother you. I will take'you to. town'.’ And she got back in the front seat of the car and I got back in there, and I said, ‘You are still not going to let me get in your breeches ?’ and she said, ‘No,’ and I said ‘All right,’ and we started off, and she said, ‘You might think I am pretty cheap, or something, but I need money awfully bad,’ and I said, ‘You want some money, do you?’ and she said, ‘Yes,’ and I gave her $20.00, and then is when I got in her breeches voluntarily, with her consent. I gave her the $20.00 before I got into her breeches. * * * Coming back to town * * * she said, ‘If you don’t give me fifty more dollars I am going to start screaming.’ And I said, T hav'en’t got fifty more dollars to give you; I think $20.00 is enough, anyway.’ And she said, ‘Well, I don’t.’ And by that time she was screaming and hollering at the top of her voice, and opened the door and trying to jump out, and I drove across town and put her out on the road * * * three quarters of a mile beyond the city limits.”

Appellant was an ex-convi,et, with one conviction for robbery with a 60 year sentence, and one for forgery. Prosecutrix was 19 years old at the time and weighed 102 pounds.

Appellant made a statement which was reduced to writing and signed by him, which is practically identical with the story told by prosecutrix while on the witness stand. He claimed that this statement was made by him because he was told by the officers'that unless he made such he would receive the extreme penalty of death, but that if he made such statement, he would get off light in his punishment. He also denied making some of the statements set forth in the confession. This matter was submitted by the trial court under proper instructions, and we see no reason fo say that same was not sufficient. •

*195 The main ground of complaint herein lies in the failure of the trial court to admit the testimony of many witnesses whereby appellant attempted to attack the reputation of prosecutrix, not only for chastity but he also attempted to show that prosecutrix was by reputation a common prostitute.

The decisions in this State are to some extent confusing relative to the method of proving the reputation of one as a common prostitute, and as to the admissibility of such proof. It is a well recognized doctrine that where an accused is charged with statutory rape upon a female whom the proof shows to be within the ages of fifteen and eighteen years, that the question of her chastity becomes material because of the fact that the unchastity of such female is a defense under the statute, and one prior act of intercourse would constitute her an unchaste person. Many of the cases cited by appellant, allowing the introduction of other specific instances of unchaste acts, are those based upon accusations of rape under the age of consent, and are not usable as direct authorities herein. It was said in the case of Bigliben v. State, 68 Texas Cr. R. 530, 151 S. W. 1044, that:

“Of course, it is not intended to hold that other isolated acts of intercourse may be shown as affecting her credit, or for any other purpose, — but is only where by her whole conduct and course in life she manifests that low state of morals which would place her in the category of what is known as a common prostitute, that it becomes admissible. (McGrath v. State, 35 Grim. Rep. 413.) The court did not err in refusing to permit appellant to prove individual acts of intercourse.”

There is also a general doctrine that unchastity of the female, when a defense, can be proven by circumstances, and all the cases furnished us by appellant’s brief on this proposition are those concerned with statutory rape of a female under the age of consent.

We think the safe rule to be as set forth by Judge Christian in the case of Graham v. State, 67 S. W. (2d) 296, from which we quote:

“It is well settled in this state that, when consent is an issue, the general bad reputation of the prosecutrix for chastity may be shown, as having a tendency to weaken the state’s claim of nonconsent. Satterwhite v. State, 113 Tex. Cr. R. 659, 23 S. W. (2d) 356; Lawson v. State, 17 Tex. App. 292; Branch’s Annotated Penal Code, p. 1003. Again, as bearing on the issue of *196 consent, proof that the prosecutrix had had sexual intercourse with the accused on other occasions is admissible, but intercourse with other men cannot be properly received in evidence on this point. Satterwhite v. State, supra, and authorities cited.

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Bluebook (online)
179 S.W.2d 547, 147 Tex. Crim. 192, 1944 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 893, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/campbell-v-state-texcrimapp-1944.