Wilson v. State

• Citation: 49 N.E. 904,150 Ind. 697
• Parties: WILSON v. STATE.
• Decision Date: 15 March 1898
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

150 Ind. 697
49 N.E. 904

WILSON
v.
STATE.¹

Supreme Court of Indiana.

March 15, 1898.

Appeal from circuit court, Elkhart county; Lewis Wanner, Special Judge.

C. W. Wilson was convicted of forgery, and appeals. Affirmed.

J. M. Van Fleet, for appellant. M. R. Clask, Merrill Moores, C. W. Miller, and Wm. A. Ketcham, for the State.

McCABE, J.

The appellant was prosecuted in the court below on affidavit and information charging him with forgery and obtaining money by false pretenses. On a trial of the issues by a jury, the defendant was found guilty as he stands charged in the information, and that he was of the age of 34 years. The circuit court rendered judgment on the verdict, over appellant's motion for a new trial, that the defendant be confined in the state prison for a period of not less than two years nor more than fourteen years on the second count in the information, being the forgery charged therein, and for not less than one year nor more than seven years on the third count, being for obtaining money under false pretenses. This trial and conviction rest for their validity on what is commonly known as the “Indeterminate Sentence Law,” approved March 8, 1897, applicable only to male offenders 30 years of age and over, guilty of felonies other than treason and murder in the first and second degrees. The sole questions presented by the record and assignments of error are whether said act is constitutional, and whether the record shows that the trial court erred in refusing a certain instruction asked by appellant.

As to the constitutionality of the act, the same objections are urged thereto as were urged to the constitutionality of the reformatory act in Miller v. State (at this term) 49 N. E. 894. The only material difference between the two acts is that the reformatory act applies to cases of male offenders between the ages of 16 and 30 years who are guilty of a felony, and not guilty of treason or murder in the first or second degree, who are to be sent to the reformatory; while the act now under consideration applies to male persons 30 years of age and over on trial for a felony which is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, except treason and murder in the first and second degrees, who, on conviction...