Rust v. State

The majority has overlooked, as it must, the definition of a deadly weapon. In doing so it has concluded that the use of a deadly weapon is not an element of aggravated assault.

Apparently the legislature wanted to penalize more severely a person using a firearm to commit a crime than one who did not use a gun or firearm. This is, of course, a valid subject for legislation. However, the legislature did not stop at defining a deadly weapon as a gun but defined a deadly weapon as literally anything capable of causing serious physical injury. Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-115(4)(b) (Repl. 1977). Applying…