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Criminal Law Keyed to Lee
United States v. Thomas
Citation:
32 C.M.R. 275, 13 U.S.C.M.A. 278 (1962)Facts
Thomas and McClellan, along with a third guy, were bar hopping. They encountered a girl who was drunk, and McClellan began dancing with her. When she collapsed into his arms, the men offered to take her home. They placed her unconscious body into McClellan’s car and left. McClellan suggested that this was a good chance for them to have sex, as the woman was drunk and would never know the difference. Each of them attempted to consummate this act.
They continued to drive and became concerned as she never regained consciousness. They ended up stopping at a service station to seek help. An ambulance was called and the woman later died. It was undisputed that her death likely occurred at the time she collapsed on the dance floor or very shortly thereafter due to a wakening of her heart muscles. The accused were unaware of the fact that she was dead.
They were both charged with attempted rape. The trial court found them guilty but the board of review set aside the findings, holding that an attempt to commit a crime must be directed to an object on which it is possible to commit the crime.
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