Brown v. State

Thompson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Melvin Winfield Brown, the appellant, pleaded guilty to common law assault in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, and was sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment ¹⁹³ by Judge William R. Buchanan, Sr. In this appeal he poses a single question: “Did the trial court violate the appellant’s constitutional guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment?” The appellant was indicted for rape in the second degree under Md. Code, Art. 27, § 463 (a) (1) (forceable rape) and (2) (where the victim is mentally defective), assault with intent to rape, and common law assault. Initially, the appellant entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but after the Clifton T. Perkins State Hospital and Dr. James E. Smith, II both reported him to be sane, he withdrew this plea and tendered a guilty plea to the charge of common law assault. After the appellant was questioned to determine that the plea was free and voluntary, the following occurred: “[Assistant State’s Attorney]: Your Honor, I first wish to plaCe on the record the plea agreement in this case between the State and the defense, as follows: That the defendant, Melvin Winfield Brown, who is in court today, would plead guilty to the fourth count of Indictment 55604, common law assault.

Upon acceptance of this plea by the court, the State will nol pros the remaining counts of the indictment. There have been no other plea negotiations in this case. The State will now proceed on an agreed statement of facts, a copy of which has been given to defense counsel and a copy which I have shown to the victim’s mother, seated in court today in the first row. “On July 18th, 1976 at approximately 3:20 P.M., the defendant, Melvin Winfield Brown, drove to the farm of Whitey Heiman, located at 4247 Butler Road in Baltimore County, Maryland, and advised Mr. Heiman and the victim, Deborah Watson, a mentally retarded girl, age fifteen, that Debbie’s mother had asked the defendant to drive both Mr. ¹⁹⁴ Heiman and Debbie to the bar located at 1 Main Street, Reisterstown, Maryland, where Debbie’s mother worked. Both Mr. Heiman and Débbie got into Mr. Brown’s automobile, and traveled west on Butler Road to Hanover Pike, and from Hanover Pike to Main Street in Reisterstown.

While traveling on Main Street, the defendant stopped the vehicle at Main and Chatsworth Streets, where the defendant order Mr. Heiman out of the car by saying, ‘You better get out or I will get you out of the car,’ in a tone of voice which Mr. Heiman believed that if he didn’t comply the defendant would harm him. Mr. Heiman then ran north on Main Street to the bar where he met Debbie’s mother, and related the above. Elaine Owens, the mother of the victim, Debbie, had never told Mr. Brown to pick up her daughter, and she called the police to report an abduction. “Officer Henry of the Baltimore County Police Department arrived at the scene, and was taking a report for kidnapping, when the defendant, Melvin Winfield Brown, walked in with the victim, Debbie Watson. Debbie immediately advised her mother, as well as the police officer, that the defendant, ‘put his thing inside of me.’ “Debbie Watson would testify that on July 18th, 1976 she was at Heiman’s farm, and that while at the farm a man, whom she would identify as the defendant, Melvin Winfield Brown, in court today, told her that she had to come with him.

After Mr. Heiman had left the car, the defendant drove the car to a wooded area, and then took her back into the woods, holding her hand. The man told her to pull her pants down, she refused, so he pulled her pants off. Deborah hit him twice on his head, and told