## Facts

- Sammy Joe Ross went to Dorothy Henley’s home, asked for directions, then produced a handgun and ordered her back inside.
- Ross forced Henley onto a couch and repeatedly ordered her to undress, threatening to kill her if she did not comply.
- Henley, crying and frightened, pleaded that she had a seven-year-old daughter who would soon be home and that Henley was the child’s only parent.
- Ross stated that if she had a little girl he would not do anything, told her to go outside and keep her back turned until he left, and then departed.
- Henley did not physically resist, raise an alarm, or obtain third-party assistance during the incident.
- Ross was charged and convicted in the Circuit Court of Union County, Mississippi, of attempted rape and sentenced to ten years.
- Ross sought a directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict based on abandonment; the trial court denied relief, and he appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether Ross’s conduct constituted an attempt to commit rape under Mississippi law.
2. Whether Ross’s retreat, prompted by the victim’s verbal plea and without physical resistance or external intervention, amounted to voluntary abandonment that negated attempt liability.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Mississippi reversed the conviction and rendered judgment for Ross.
- The court held that Ross voluntarily abandoned his attempt.
- Because no outside force, physical resistance, or independent intervening cause prevented completion, the abandonment barred liability for attempted rape on these facts.

## Legal Principles

- Attempt requires an overt act toward commission of the crime that displays the requisite intent and goes beyond mere preparation.
- Voluntary abandonment (renunciation) can negate attempt liability when the defendant changes his mind and withdraws without external intervention, physical resistance, or other independent cause preventing completion.
- A victim’s verbal urging, without more, may support a finding of voluntary abandonment when it leads the defendant to freely desist rather than fail due to outside prevention.

## Conclusion

The court set aside Ross’s attempted-rape conviction because the evidence showed a voluntary, uncoerced decision to stop after the victim’s verbal plea, and the crime was not left uncompleted due to outside prevention or physical resistance.


Ross v. State, 601 So. 2d 872 (Miss. 1992)