State v. Ritchie

• Decision Date: 24 November 1890
• Citation: 12 S.E. 251,107 N.C. 857
• Parties: STATE v. RITCHIE.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

12 S.E. 251

107 N.C. 857

STATE v. RITCHIE.

Supreme Court of North Carolina

November 24, 1890

Appeal from superior court, Stanly county; SHIPP, Judge.

An indictment for permitting a prisoner to escape from custody, which charges that the prisoner was arrested by defendant by authority of a warrant for bastardy, and that defendant subsequently, unlawfully and negligently, permitted the prisoner to escape, is valid at common law.

The Attorney General, for the State.

CLARK, J.

An escape is defined to be "when one who is arrested gains his liberty before he is delivered in due course of law," (1 Russ. Crimes, 467;) and by another eminent authority tersely as "the departure of a prisoner from custody," (2 Whart. Crim. Law, § 2606.) These definitions are cited and approved by SMITH, C.J., in State v. Johnson, 94 N.C. 924. The indictment charges, in proper and sufficient terms, that the prisoner was arrested by the defendant by authority of a warrant for bastardy, and that the defendant subsequently, unlawfully and negligently, permitted the prisoner to escape. The warrant for bastardy was legal, and sufficient authority to arrest such prisoner. Code,§ 32; State v. Palin, 63 N.C. 471; State v. Green, 71 N.C. 172. The indictment was therefore valid at common law, as may be seen from above citations. This renders it unnecessary to consider whether the indictment was not also sufficient under the statute. Code, § 1022. The motion to quash was improvidently allowed. Error.