Stephenson v. State

{{Short description|1932 Indiana Supreme Court Case}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{one source|date=March 2022}}

{{Infobox court case

|name = Stephenson v. State

|court = Indiana Supreme Court

|image = Seal of the Indiana Supreme Court.jpg

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|full name = Stephenson v. State of Indiana

|date decided = {{start date|1932|01|19}}

|citations = {{law report|179|N.E.|633}}; 205 Ind. 141

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|judges = David Myers, Julius Travis, Clarence R. Martin, Curtis Roll, Walter Treanor

|number of judges = 5

|decision by = Per curiam

|concurring = Myers, Travis, Roll

|dissenting =

|concur/dissent = Treanor, Martin

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Stephenson v. State, Indiana Supreme Court, 179 N.E. 633 (Ind. 1932), is a criminal case involving causation in criminal law, significant for its political and legal consequences.Criminal Law Cases and Materials, 7th ed. 2012, John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder In 1925, David Curtiss Stephenson, leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana abducted Madge Oberholtzer, injured her, and repeatedly raped her. She ingested poison and later died. Publicity for the case may have reversed ascendency of the Klan nationally. The case is legally significant in that it found "if a defendant engaged in the commission of a felony such as rape... inflicts upon his victim both physical and mental injuries, the natural and probable result of which would render the deceased mentally irresponsible and suicide followed, we think he would be guilty of murder".