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Assistant DA decries rulingCourt distinguishes between simple, aggravated rapeBy MELINDA MAGEEDaily Texan StaffA Texas Criminal Court of Appeals ruling this month limiting conditions under which a man canbe convicted oi aggravated rape ‘flies in the face of logic, said Rosemary Lehmberg Travis County assistant district attorney“To say that a threat of serious bodily injury cannot be communicated by a guy beating you up fails to recognize a woman’s fear, Lehmberg said FridayThe appeals court reversed the aggravated rape conviction of Trumrrue Neal Rucker alias Trum-mie Neal Howard who was assessed life imprisonment by a Houston jury for the Oct 5, 1975 rape of anurse.At issue m the appeal was whether the beating Rucker inflicted upon the woman constituted serious bodily injury as defined by the statepenal code Although the evidence was sufficient to prove simple rape, the court concluded in a 5-4 decision it was not sufficient to prove there were aggravating elements of rape — threat of death or serious bodily injury.The woman’s injuries consisted of black and swollen eyes, a swollen face, cuts inside her lip bruised chest and breasts, scratched and abraded buttocks and legs, a rash from poison ivy and pain Rucker struck the victimrepeatedly in the face, chest and breasts with his fists and dragged the nude woman by her ankle down a gravel road on her back, according to a court summary of the case Rucker can be retried for simple rape, a second-degree felony punishable bv two to 20 years, as compared to aggravated rape, a first-degree felony, punishable by five years to lifeAll they (the judges) have done is very strictly construe that statute ” Lehmberg said The statute defines serious bodily injury as “bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function ofany bodily member or organSince no verbal threat was made to compel submission to the rape, no weapon was used and no serious bodily injuries were inflicted, there were no elements of aggravation, the court ruledAs a woman, the decision surprises me. Lehmberg said A man can truly and vividly express a threat of death by his fists, more so than by what he says.” Lehmberg saidLehmberg said perhaps the Legislature should abolish the distinction between simple rape and aggravated rape and allow the jury to decide the prison term based on the circumstances in the individual case
Newspaper Details
Austin Daily Texan
Austin, Texas, US
Mon, Jun 30, 1980
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Jared T.
NA, NA 14 Aug 2023
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