Cunningham v. State

DAN M. LEE, Justice,

for , the Court:

The Circuit Court of Hancock County indicted Jay Cunningham, along with three others, on charges of escaping from the Hancock County jail, where he was being held on a conviction of rape. Cunningham had been sentenced on the rape conviction to life imprisonment in the Mississippi State Penitentiary, but was apparently in the Hancock County jail awaiting the results of his appeal of that conviction.

The indictment for jail escape did not specify the statute which was violated. After the jury returned a verdict of guilty, the following exchange ensued between…