Craig v. State

James Howard Craig, a Negro man, twenty-eight years of age, was convicted of common law rape upon an eight year old Negro female in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, and sentenced to death by the administration of a lethal gas. From this judgment and sentence, he has appealed.

He was tried by the Court, sitting without a jury, and the principal question involved is the sufficiency of the evidence relating to penetration to justify a conviction of rape. It is universally recognized, and conceded by the State in this case, that penetration is an essential element of the crime of rape.…