Whipple

Defendant appeals from á judgment of conviction of the crime of escaping from an officer (sec. 107, Pen. Code) and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

It is an admitted fact that defendant, while in the custody of the sheriff under lawful judgment of imprisonment for a misdemeanor, and while working in the prison camp of San Bernardino County, made his escape from the custody of the sheriff and from said prison camp. The sole defense offered is that the conditions existing in the camp, together with the brutal and inhumane treatment of the defendant, made his imprisonment intolerable and justified the escape.

The gist of the point made on appeal herein is that the trial court committed reversible error in instructing the jury that an excuse for the escape of defendant, founded upon any alleged insanitary conditions, or alleged harsh, brutal or inhumane treatment received by him at the hands of his custodian, would constitute no defense in the law for the commission of the offense.

In this state the common law is of no effect so far as the specification of what acts or conduct shall constitute a crime is concerned. (Sec. 6, Pen. Code; 7 Cal. Jur. 841.) In order…