State v. Guthridge

Citations

• 88 Kan. 846
• 129 P. 1143
• 1913 Kan. LEXIS 432

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Information—Charging Rape—Conviction of an Attempt to- Commit Rape. Under an information charging the defendant, with the offense of rape as defined in section 31 of the crimes-act there may be, if the testimony warrants it, a conviction of an attempt to commit that offense although the overt acts done towards the commission of the offense are not specifically set forth in the information.</p> <p>2. - Instructions. Upon such a charge the court is not required to instruct the jury as to the offense defined in' section 41 of the crimes act which, among other things, includes, the offense of assault with intent to commit rape.</p> <p>3. - Same. While an attempt to commit rape is, strictly speaking, not a degree of the principal offense, no prejudice resulted from a statement in an instruction of the court in regard to degrees of crime.</p> <p>4. Drunkenness—No Excuse for Committing Crime. It is a. principle of law applicable in ordinary cases that voluntary drunkenness does not of itself either excuse or justify crime. When a specific intent is of the essence or a neeessary ingredient of the offense drunkenness may be shown and considered, but under the testimony in this case affecting-defendant’s condition and responsibility for his act it is held that the omission of an instruction stating the exceptions to. the ordinary rule is not material error.</p>