Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-07-07
ATTEMPT AT MURDER
Suprtm3 Court DiSmiSSeS Frank D,
Camps HabeaS Corpus APPEAL.
NO REvEnsInLE rRRon FOUND
Was Convicted of An Attempi OF
Wreck a U. z. Train AT Ogdsn
During the Strike OF '0I

opinion today in the matter Of an ap.
plication for n writ OF habeas corpus
in behalf OF Frank De Camp denying
the appeal aud affirming the judg-
ment OF the lower court.
De Camp was convicted before
Judge Smith on the 18Th OF Octo Der,
1894, OF an attempt to commit muir.
der. His offense consisted OF attempt-
log TO wreck q Union Pacifi, train
near Ogden durl' g the big railroad
strike in Jaly, 1894.
The Jury found him guilty as
charged and he was sentenced to
twelve years 10 the State prison. His
attorney filed petition asking that he
discharged from imprisonment Oh a
writ OF habeas corpus. This was
denied, when an appeal to the State
Supreme Court was taken.
De Camp was convicted under Sec
ton 4744 of the penal code, which
reads as follows:
"Every person who attempts to coin.
nit any cri me but fails, or 10 pre-.
vented or Intercepted In the perpetrs-
ton thereof, Ia punishable where no
vision 10 made by law for the nun
i.hment OF such altempts, as followt:
III the ofiense 8, attempted IL punish
able by imprisonment in the peniten.
tlsry Tor i've years or more, or by impris-
oument in the county jail, the person
guiIty OF such offeBse ID hable by
imprisonment IN the penilsntisry or
county iail. as the case may be, for
term not exceeding one half the long.
est term OF imprisonment prescribed,
upon conviction Of the offense 30 al.
tempted"
DeCemp's claim was that he should
not nave been convicted unuer that
section, for the reason that section
447O provides for the conviction OF pei
sons who attempt to kill another by
adm nietering or causing to be au.
minihts red, pOisons. etc. He also
qu ted section 4S7l whica Gays:
LIVERY person VINO assaults another
with Intent to murder IL punishable
by imprisonment In the pen," etc.
HE contention was that the Iegisia.
tufe did not H. tenu TO include other
attempts to murder rs crimes Ia the
general section quoted. Commenting
on this contenti the court says:
Murder without the use OF poisons, or
without assault, is equally as wicked AZ
with the use OF those means, and the
punishment OF attempts to murder by
other means Is equally essential 10 The
pr election of human life.
We are OF the opinion that attem pts to
murder Otherwise than by poisoning or
assault are included in the general pro-
vision OF attempted crimes defined in
section 477d.
For attempts to commit crimes punish
able by imprisonment in the STATE prison
for ave years or upward, the above
named section prescribes punishment by
imprisonment Tor a term not exceeding
one-half OF the largest term prescribed,
upon conviction OF the offense at
tempted. The ofiense attempted
in this case was murder, and
the statute fixing tho punishment
for murder declares that every person
found guilty of murder in the first de-
gree, shall upon the recommendation of
the jury suffer death or imprisonment
for Iifo in the discretion OF The court,
and that every person guilty OF murder
in the second degree, shall be imprisoned
at hard labor Tor term not less than
to life. The longest term for
imprisonment in the first and
second degree Is the same. In the
one case the term must be ior life and
the other IL may extend during life. For
murder in the second degree the court
may INK the term Tor any number Of
days, months or years-not less than ten
years. IL may extend 10 twenty-iour
years or more, but If the convict dies
before that time his term ends; 1t cannot
extend beyond his life. All sentences
for terms are for life when the convict
dies before the time fixed euds.
1t is clear that the court could not have
sentenced person convicted of murder
for twenty-four years or more; and the
defendanrs sentence did not exceed one
half OF such term.
While the court had no legal right to
sentence the defendant for more than
one-half the longest term for murder, he
could make the Term less Than one-half
OF course the court conld not ascer-
tain one-half of u life sentence, but he
could say that the longest term OF years
for which a person convicted OF murder
could be sentenced might be twenty
four years or more, aud fixed the de-
fendant's term NJ twelve years.
Chiei Jnstics Zane says that no
reversible error in tns FecJfd 10 found,
and an ms the judgment sppeale1
from, which m ans that DeCamp will
serve his sentence uuless pardoned.
Justice Miner and District Judge
Hart concur In the opinion.