State v. . Johnson
Supreme Court of North Carolina
This was au indictment for aD escape, tried before Clark, Judge, at January Criminal Term, 1886, of Wake Superior Court. The defendant, having the custody and control of a convict committed to the penitentiary for a felony, is charged in the indictment, with having unlawfully and negligently permitting him to escape and go at large.
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This was au indictment for aD escape, tried before Clark, Judge, at January Criminal Term, 1886, of Wake Superior Court. The defendant, having the custody and control of a convict committed to the penitentiary for a felony, is charged in the indictment, with having unlawfully and negligently permitting him to escape and go at large. On a plea of not guilty, he was tried before a jury, who rendered a special verdict, in which they find as follows : I. That one Peter Birdsong, a colored boy of the age of twelve or fourteen years, was sentenced by the Superior Court of Warren county, at…
1Opinion of the CourtSmith, C. J.
(after stating the case). An escape has been effected, in the criminal sense of the law, in the language of an eminent author in a work on criminal law, “when one who is arrested, gains his liberty before he is delivered in due course of law.” 1 Russell on Crimes, 467.
It is defined in brief words by another writer, as “ the departure of a prisonerer from custody.” 2 Whar. Cr. Law, §2606.
It is not necessary to prove negligence in one who has the lawful custody of the prisoner, for it is implied, and is excusable only, when “occasioned by the act of God, or from irresistable adverse force,” or,…
2Cited by7 opinions
- Sutton v. . WilliamsSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1930
- State v. . RitchieSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1890
- States v. DavisCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1948
- State v. . LewisSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1893
- Brady v. . HughesSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1921
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