Facts
- McQuirter, a Black man, was indicted for assault with intent to rape a white woman, Mrs. Ted Allen, in Atmore, Alabama.
- Around 8:00 p.m., Mrs. Allen left a diner with her two children and a neighbor’s child and saw McQuirter seated in a parked truck.
- As she passed, he spoke unintelligibly, opened the truck door, and put a foot on the running board; she then observed him follow her down the street.
- When Mrs. Allen turned into a neighbor’s yard to avoid him, he was within a few feet; she waited for him to pass before continuing.
- When she resumed walking, Mrs. Allen testified he approached again from near a telephone pole; she sent the children to summon a neighbor, Lewis Simmons.
- When Simmons came toward her, McQuirter walked away, stopped near the intersection, and remained across from Mrs. Allen’s home for roughly thirty minutes before leaving.
- Mrs. Allen’s daughter and Simmons corroborated key observations, including the children’s report that a “Negro was after them” and McQuirter’s lingering near the home.
- Police officers testified that after arrest McQuirter stated he came to town intending to “get” a white woman and had decided to take the first woman who passed, follow her, take her to a cotton patch, rape her, and kill her if she screamed.
- McQuirter denied making the statements and claimed he was in the area looking for his companion.
Issues
- Whether the evidence, including McQuirter’s conduct and alleged statements, was sufficient to support a conviction for an attempt to commit an assault with intent to rape.
- Whether police testimony about McQuirter’s alleged post-arrest statements of intent was admissible despite the defense claim that no overt act had been shown.
Decision
- The Court of Appeals of Alabama affirmed the judgment.
- The court held the evidence permitted the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that McQuirter intended to have sexual intercourse with Mrs. Allen against her will by force or fear.
- The court concluded that McQuirter’s pursuit and proximity to Mrs. Allen, his presence near her home, and the officers’ testimony about his statements supported submission of the case to the jury and supported the verdict.
- The court rejected the argument that the officers’ testimony was inadmissible absent additional proof of an overt act.
- The court stated that, in determining intent, the jury could consider “social conditions and customs founded upon racial differences.”
Legal Principles
- For attempt to commit an assault with intent to rape, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt an intent to have intercourse against the victim’s will by force or by putting the victim in fear.
- Intent may be inferred from the defendant’s conduct and surrounding circumstances and is generally a question for the jury.
- A defendant’s statements describing a plan and purpose may be admitted as evidence bearing on intent.
- The court permitted consideration of racial “social conditions and customs” as part of the circumstances from which intent could be inferred.
Conclusion
The court affirmed McQuirter’s conviction for an attempt to commit an assault with intent to rape, holding that the jury could infer intent from his pursuit and presence near the complainant’s home together with his alleged statements, and that jurors could consider prevailing racial “social customs” when evaluating intent.