Allen v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS. Alexander Allen was indicted at the November term, 1892, of the Circuit Court for the Western District of Arkansas for the murder of Phillip Henson in the Cherokee Nation, on. May 14, 1892, and, at the February term, 1893, of that court was tried upon the indictment, found guilty of the crime charged,. and, after the overruling of. a-motion for new trial, was sen- • fenced to death.
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ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS. Alexander Allen was indicted at the November term, 1892, of the Circuit Court for the Western District of Arkansas for the murder of Phillip Henson in the Cherokee Nation, on. May 14, 1892, and, at the February term, 1893, of that court was tried upon the indictment, found guilty of the crime charged,. and, after the overruling of. a-motion for new trial, was sen- • fenced to death. A writ of error was then allowed to this court. The evidence tended to show that Allen was a colored boy, ’ of about fourteen…
1Opinion of the Court
Mr. Chibs' Justice Fuller,
after stating the cáse, delivered the opinion of the court.
The rule of the common law was that one under the age of seven years could not be guilty of felony or punished for any capital offence, for within that age the infant was conclusively presumed to be incapable of committing' the crime; and that while between the ages of seven and fourteen the same presumption obtained, it was only prima faeie and rebuttable. The maxim — malice supplies the want of maturity of years — was then applied and, upon satisfactory'evidence of capacity, the child within these ages…
2Cited by33 opinions
- Allen v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1896
- People v. GainerCalifornia Supreme Court · 1977
- Hickory v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1894
- United States v. Darwin Clark BaileyCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1972
- United States v. Gregory M. ThomasCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1997
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