Opinion ID: 1195405
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the arrest the charges the plea the trial

Text: Criminal complaints and warrants were issued charging appellant with rape and attempt to commit rape. The statutes under which the appellant was charged are: § 6-63. Rape; degrees of rape defined.  (A) Whoever unlawfully has carnal knowledge of a woman or female child forcibly and against her will is guilty of first-degree rape, and shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for any term not less than one (1) year, or during life. [W.S. 1957, 1975 Cum.Supp.] The attempt statute, to be found at § 6-64, W.S. 1957, provides: § 6-64. Attempt to commit rape.  Whoever perpetrates an assault or assault and battery upon any female with intent to commit the crime of rape, shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than fifty years. Following his preliminary hearing, where he was bound over to district court, defendant-appellant underwent a number of psychiatric examinations under authority of § 7-242.3, W.S. 1957, 1975 Cum.Supp. On June 6, 1975, he appeared for arraignment and pled not guilty, not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the alleged offenses and not triable by reason of present insanity. After further medical examinations, the parties stipulated that the cases be consolidated for trial. Prior to the trial, the attorney for Sanchez filed a Motion for Trial on All Elements of Crime, wherein request was made for a single trial of all elements of the alleged offenses, including mental responsibility. It was urged that §§ 7-242.1 through 7-242.6, W.S. 1957, 1975 Cum.Supp., unconstitutionally deprived Sanchez of a fair trial, due process, the right to confront witnesses and the right to effective assistance of counsel. The motion was denied, and the cases came on for trial on March 8, 1976. At trial, the prosecution presented all of its evidence, except for testimony relating to mental responsibility, during the first procedural phase. At the close of this phase, the jury returned special verdicts finding that Sanchez unlawfully touched Jill Heath, in an attempt to have sexual intercourse with her, and that he did have sexual intercourse with Donna Burt. During the second phase of the trial, appellant's medical expert testified that appellant suffered from an explosive personality disorder and a reactive type of agitated depression; that the latter was a mental illness; and that appellant lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct at the time of the alleged offenses. The State's medical expert also found the mental illness but was unable to relate it to appellant's capacity at the time of the alleged offenses. At the end of the second phase, the jury returned verdicts of guilty to both charges and found appellant mentally responsible at the time of the offenses. Motions were made for judgment of acquittal and for a new trial, but these motions were denied. Sanchez was sentenced to serve three to six years on the attempt-to-commit-rape charge, and to a concurrent sentence of five to ten years on the rape charge, with provisions for treatment at the Wyoming State Hospital.