Smallwood v. State
Maryland Court of Appeals
680 A.2d 512 (1996)
- Written by Craig Conway, LLM
Facts
After being diagnosed with HIV, Dwight Smallwood (defendant) was warned that it was necessary to practice safe sex to avoid the disease’s transmission to others. Smallwood later raped three women without wearing a condom. In addition to rape and robbery charges, Smallwood was charged with attempted murder and assault with intent to murder. Smallwood argued that he was not liable for the latter offenses because he lacked the requisite intent to kill. The state countered that intent to kill could be inferred because Smallwood knew that he had HIV and that his conduct created a risk of transmission. Smallwood pled guilty to the rape and robbery charges, and the trial court then convicted him of the additional attempted-murder and assault-with-intent-to-murder charges. The intermediate court upheld the convictions, and Smallwood appealed to the Maryland Court of Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Murphy, C.J.)
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