Commonwealth v. Rodman

Citations

• 34 Pa. Super. 607
• 1907 Pa. Super. LEXIS 188

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Conveying means of escape to prisoner — Attempt—Indictment — Act of March 31, 1860, sec. 4, P. L. 382.</p> <p>In Pennsylvania it is a misdemeanor punishable by fine and imprisonment for any person to convey, or cause to be delivered to a prisoner lawfully committed or detained in any jail, any disguise, instrument or arms proper to facilitate the escape of such prisoner, although no escape or attempt to escape be actually made. An attempt to commit such a misdemeanor is a misdemeanor itself.</p> <p>An attempt to commit a misdemeanor is a misdemeanor whether the offense is created by a statute or was an offense at common law.</p> <p>An indictment charged that the defendant “did attempt to commit an offense prohibited by law,” and then in apt terms described an attempt to convey certain tools to prisoners in jail with the intent that the prisoners might thereby and therewith escape or attempt to escape from jail. The indictment concluded, “that the said defendant then and there did fail in the perpetration of said offense, and was intercepted and prevented in the execution'of the same.” Held, that the indictment plainly meant that the defendant failed to perpetrate the offense he attempted, and that it was not reasonably susceptible of being interpreted to mean that he failed to perpetrate the attempt.</p>