Garnett v. State
Maryland Court of Appeals
332 Md. 571, 632 A.2d 797 (1993)

- Written by Sara Rhee, JD
Facts
Raymond Lennard Garnett (defendant) was mentally handicapped. At the age of 20, when the events in question occurred, his social development mirrored that of an 11- or 12-year-old. Garnett was introduced to a 13-year-old girl named Erica Frazier in late 1990. On February 28, 1991, Frazier invited Garnett into her bedroom, and they engaged in sexual intercourse. Maryland had in effect a statutory-rape law that defined second-degree rape as sexual intercourse between a victim under 14 and one who was four years or more older than the victim. The law also defined second-degree rape as sexual intercourse obtained by force and sexual intercourse between a victim who was mentally handicapped, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless and one who knew or should know about the victim’s condition. The penalty for second-degree rape in Maryland was imprisonment for up to 20 years.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Murphy, C.J.)
Dissent (Eldridge, J.)
Dissent (Bell, J.)
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