134 Ky. 170 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1909
Opinion op the court by
Affirming.
M. W. Roland was the prison clerk of the Kentucky penitentiary at Frankfort, Ky., and as such had the custody of the money belonging to convicts in the penitentiary. The rule was that, when a convict came the money that he had or that he afterwards received was taken from him and put in the hands of the prison clerk to keep, and, as he paid it out for the convicts, he credited himself with the amount so paid out. After he had been in office some years, he confessed to one of the commissioners that he was behind in his accounts, and, an investigation having been made, it was learned that the amount due from bim to the convicts was $2,128.08, and that he had in his hands $274.61, leaving a net shortage of $1,853.47. Roland explained his shortage by saying that he was in debt when he came to Frankfort to take the position, that he had used $250 of the money to pay on his old debts, and that he had afterwards sent money to his brother in Boston on several occasions when he had to have an operation performed to save his life. He was indicted by the grand jury under section 1358a, Ky. St., which is as follows: ‘ ‘ That any person who shall sell, dispose of or convert to his or her own use or the use of another, any money, property or
It is insisted for him that the indictment attempts to charge a score of offenses without 'properly setting forth one. This position is based upon the idea that the embezzlement of the money of each convict was a separate offense, and that an indictment could not be maintained for the embezzlement of the fund. This is not a proper conclusion. The convicts were required to deliver their money to the prison clerk for safe keeping. He was required to keep the money which they delivered to him. The fund that was in his hands belonged to all of the convicts; the interest
It is immaterial that the convicts did not voluntarily place their money in the hands of the prison clerk hut were required to do so by the prison commissioners. The prison clerk, when he received the money, held it by order of the prison commissioners for the convicts. There is no dispute in the evidence as to the facts. The defendant did not testify or offer any evidence. Tie stands upon the record as an admitted defaulter for something over $1,800. The verdict of the jury is for the lowest term under the statute. The purpose of the statute is to punish just such misappropriations of the funds of others as is shown here, This court, can not consider the affidavit filed on the motion for a new trial to show misconduct on the part of the jury, as the rulings of the circuit court on the motion for new trial are under the Code not subject to exception.
On the whole case we see no error in the record.
Judgment affirmed.