The Court of Appeals released several opinions yesterday. The most significant may be State v. Wallace, an assault case involving remarkable and disturbing facts and difficult legal questions. The victim, a 79-year-old man, and one of the defendants, a 66-year-old woman, became neighbors when the victim sold the defendant some of his land. A boundary dispute ensued, and feelings ran high. Compressing the facts a bit, the victim was in his yard one day when his neighbor and her 40-year-old daughter attacked him. They pulled him to the ground, bound his hands and feet, and placed a plastic bag over his head. He was able to make a hole in the bag, so the women tried, unsuccessfully, to cram it into his mouth. They proceeded to beat the victim with their hands and with tree limbs for over an hour, until they became exhausted. During the respite, the victim begged for his life, and passed out. When he awoke, the defendants asked him to sign a statement saying that the land in question was theirs. He did so, and the defendants then became "extremely gentle," washed his wounds, and helped him to his truck. He called the police. The defendants were charged with first-degree kidnapping, attempted first-degree murder, and AWDWIKISI. A jury convicted each of them of AWDWISI. On appeal, the daughter argued that the evidence was insufficient to show that she employed a deadly weapon. The indictment alleged that she had used a "Large Limb, Fist and Plastic Bag over [...]
Faculty Coordinators
