Reed v. State

41 S.E.2d 426, 201 Ga. 789, 1947 Ga. LEXIS 337

• Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
• Decided: February 4, 1947
• Docket: 15665.
• Status: Published

Opinions

Head, Justice.

(After stating the foregoing facts.) The Code, § 26-1303, provides: “It shall be unlawful for any person to have sexual or carnal intercourse with any female child under the age of 14 years, unless such person shall have previously become lawfully married to such female child.” The Code, § 26-1304, provides: "Any person who shall violate the provisions of section 26-1303 shall be guilty of rape, and on conviction thereof shall be punished as prescribed by section 26-1302, unless the jury trying the case shall recommend that the defendant be punished as for a misdemeanor, in which event the same shall be made the judgment and sentence of the court: Provided, however, that no conviction shall be had for said offense on the unsupported testimony of the female in question.” The requirement that the testimony of the female be corroborated is that other facts and circumstances must support her testimony that the crime charged has in fact been committed by someone. Rivers v. State, 179 Ga. 782 (177 S. E. 564).

"Before there can be a lawful conviction of a crime, the corpus delicti, that is, that the crime charged has been committed by someone, must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, or a conviction should not be had.” Shedd v. State, 178 Ga. 653 (173 S. E. 817), and cases cited. In this case the testimony of Elligree Harper that a crime was committed upon her, in that someone had sexual intercourse with her at a time when under the law she was incapable of consenting thereto, is corroborated, for the undisputed evidence shows that she became the mother of a child before she reached the age of 14 years. Testimony by other witnesses for the State sufficiently established the age of Elligree Harper. The corpus delicti is proven by the child born to her before she reached the age of consent. There is supporting testimony tending to show that the defendant might have committed the crime, which was not denied by him in his statement to the jury. The general grounds of the motion for new trial were properly overruled.

The amended ground of the motion for new trial is simply an elaboration of the general grounds, it being stated that the verdict was contrary to the evidence, contrary to law, and without evidence to support it, in that there is no sufficient corroboration of the testimony of the female alleged to have been raped to justify or authorize a verdict of guilty. This ground of the motion for new trial is controlled adversely to the contentions of the defendant by the rulings announced on the general grounds.

The bill of exceptions in this case was certified to the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court, and not the Court of Appeals, has jurisdiction. See Morris v. State, 179 Ga. 519 (176 S. E. 395).

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur, except Bell, J., who concurs specially, and Wyatt, J., who dissents.