State v. Gilstrap

Mr. Associate: Justice Fishburne

delivered the unanimous Opinion of the Court :

The appellant, Charles Gilstrap, a young white man, was tried upon an indictment charging him with rape. The victim was a white girl eleven years of age. He was found guilty, and the trial Court sentenced him to be electrocuted as provided by law.

There are several assignments of error. The first group raises the issue that the trial Judge erred in refusing to grant a new trial on account of alleged intemperate and inflammatory language used by the Solicitor in his closing argument to the jury. It is contended by…