The Express.
London, England, 1862-10-15 00:00:00

THE CONDEMNED MURDERESS.

It is satisfactory to be enabled to state that the
wretched woman, Constance Taylor, alias Catherine Wilson,
who was convicted at the last session of the Central Criminal
Court of the crime of murder by poison, at length appears
to be somewhat impressed with her awful position, and pre-
paring to mast her fate in a becoming manner. After her
conviction she continued to assert that she was entirely in.
nocent of the crime alleged against her, and she professed
not to have heard or to have understood any of the observa-
tions that were made to her by Mr. Justice Bylea, who tried
her, in passing sentence, when it will be remembered he
stated distinctly that there were good grounds for
believing that she had committed several other crimes
of the same description. It has been observed by all
prison officials that persona who are alleged to have com-
mitted murder by means of poison present a different con-
duct and demeanour to other classes of criminals, and that
all their proceedings appear to be based upon the most
deliberate oonsideratiou, and in the present cue it was evi-
dent that the prisoner persisted in the declaration of her in-
nocence as the only chance by which she might evade the
sentence of the law. Now, however, that the time ap-
proaches, and the prison authorities have felt it their duty
to caution her against entertaining any hope that mercy
will be extended to her, a considerable difference has
been observed in her demeanour, and she no longer
asseverates her innocence in the positive manner she
previously had done, and it is considered as not at all im-
Cbhale that she will make an admission of her guilt. It
eben already stated that Mr. Neale, the attorney who
conducted the defence of the prisoner, has transmitted a
memorial to the Home Secretary on her behalf, urging the
absence of any conclusive or positive evidence in support of
the charge ; and it appears that, in addition to this, the pri-
soner, has herself also drawn up a statement, which was
transmitted to the Home-office by Mr. Jonas, the governor
of Newgste, on Saturday last, in which she prays that the
mercy of the Crown may be extended to her, and asserts her
innocence of the crime of which she was convicted. It
is understood that in the memorial made by the
prisoner she asserts that all the symptoms that were ex-
hibited by the unfortunate deceased were the result of in-
ternal disease ; and she declares most earnestly that she
never administered any pima to her. The evidence, how-
ever, was so conclusive, that it is not in the slightest degree
probable that the mere assertion of innocence by the pri-
soner will have any effect upon the decision of the advisers
of the crown ; and although no formal answer bas yet been
received to either of the memorials, there does not appear
to be the least reason for supposing that the law will not be
allowed to take its course. The public is aware
that the trimmer was tried at a previous seed= of
the Central Criminal Court for the offeenis of
attempting to commit murder by poisoning, which by
a very recant alteration of the law is no longer a capital
crime, but merely renders the prisoner convicted of it liable
to penal servitude. The evidence in this cue was so strong
that Baron Bramwell who tried her summed up the awe
as one in which he evidently thought that a conviction
ought to take place, but the jury after a very long
deliberation found the prisoner not guilty. Although this
was considered a lucky escape for her at the time the result
has been far from being so, for it was perfectly well under
stood that although a good deal of suspicion attached to
the prisoner in reference to other transactions, still
if she had been convicted, and sentenced, as she
probably would have been to a long period of penal
servitude, no further proceedings would have been taken
against her. After the acquittal of the prisoner, however,
such strong representations were made to the Home Secre-
tary in reference to the prisoner, that he felt it his duty to
institute inquiries, and the result has been the conviction of
the prisoner ot the crime for which her life will be forfeited.
Fourteen years have now elapsed since the capital sentence
has been eanied out upon a female at Newute. The last
woman who was executed wee Harriet Parker, for the
murder of two children belonging to a man with whom she
cohabited in the Oaswellatanetroad, and who was executed
in February, 184 S.

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