Penland v. State
| Decision Date | 15 June 1972 |
| Docket Number | No. 27212,27212 |
| Parties | Jerry Plott PENLAND v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
The trial court did not err in denying the appellant's motion for new trial upon his conviction for rape, aggravated sodomy and aggravated battery.
L. S. Cobb, J. Fred Ivester, Marietta, for appellant.
Reid Merritt, Dist. Atty., Gary L. Davis, Lawrenceville, for appellee.
Jerry Plott Penland appeals from the denial of his original and amended motion for new trial following his conviction and sentences in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County for rape, aggravated sodomy and aggravated battery. He received sentences of two twenty-years confinements and one ten-years confinement. The enumerations of error are predicated upon the grounds of such motion.
Several law enforcement officers testified that in the early hours of the morning in question they located an automobile and several articles of muddy and bloody clothing; that upon search of the nearby wooded vicinity they found the victim; that she was almost nude; that her head was a complete mass of blood and her body was covered with mud, cuts and bruises, that her eyes were swollen shut; that she was incoherent; and that shortly thereafter they found the defendant who had first sought to elude the officers but later acknowledged his identification.
An examining physcian at the county hospital described the victim's physical condition and testified that he found male sperm in her vagina.
The victim testified in detail as to what had occurred, relating that the defendant, by threats and by beating her with his hands, a stick and a tire tool, forced her to submit to several acts of each of the offenses.
Two psychiatrists testified as to the mental condition of the accused, stating that he could distinguish between right and wrong.
The accused made an unsworn statement in which he admitted having sexual relations with her but denied that he forced her to do so.
A review of the transcript of the evidence authorizes without any question whatever the verdict of guilty. Therefore the enumerations based upon the general grounds of the motion are without merit.
However the record shows without conflict that the witnesses were kept out of the courtroom throughout the trial. Furthermore, upon inquiry by the trial judge at the request of the appellant's attorney, it was ascertained that no person talked with any of the witnesses regarding the case on trial. For the foregoing and other reasons, this enumeration is not valid.
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...victim's body was rendered useless and seriously disfigured. Mitchell v. State, 238 Ga. 167, 231 S.E.2d 773 (1977); Penland v. State, 229 Ga. 256, 190 S.E.2d 900 (1972). 7. Appellant's ninth enumeration of error asserts the trial court erred in failing to charge his requested charge on the ......
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...State, 246 Ga. at 318(2), 271 S.E.2d 360 (broken nose, deep lacerations requiring stitches, extensive bruising); Penland v. State, 229 Ga. 256, 257(1), 190 S.E.2d 900 (1972) (massive bruising, cuts, and swelling resulting from head trauma that left the victim incoherent); Ganas v. State, 24......
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