State v. Stewart

The defendants present two questions for decision: (1) Is G.S. 14-62, which prohibits any person from wantonly and willfully setting fire to churches and certain other buildings, unconstitutional as violative of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States? (2) Is the imposition of a sentence of twelve years in prison cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States?

The record on appeal in these five consolidated cases was docketed more than ninety days after the rendition of the judgment below and no…