The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-27 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT—WARWICK, MARCH 26.
MURDER.—REGINA T. WILLIAMS.
The prisoner, William Williams, was indicted for
the wilful murder of Ann Williams, at the hamlet
of Grwyney, in the parish of Talfarth:
Mr. Giffard appeared for the prosecution, and Mr.
C. E. Coleridge, at the request of the learned judge,
watched the case on behalf of the prisoner.
From the opening statement it appeared that the
deceased was aunt to the prisoner, and occupied a
small farm about six miles from the place where
the prisoner was in service. On the night of the
murder (October 18) the prisoner went to the de-
ceased's house, taking his gun with him, and was
kindly received by her. The other inmates of the
house were the prisoner's sister, and a little boy,
six years old, an illegitimate son of the de-
ceased. The next day the prisoner remained in
the house till 3 o'clock, when he went out,in com-
pany with his sister and the child, taking his gun
with him. The deceased remained indoors picking
wool before the fire. The prisoner turned back
shortly after he left the house, and in a few moments
Charlotte Williams, the sister, who had gone on for
the cows, heard a scream. She ran to the house and
met the prisoner coming out, who said, " Aunt has
shot herself." She then saw her aunt on fire, and
after putting out the fire discovered that she was
shot dead in her chair. The prisoner subsequently,
when arrested, and after being repeatedly cautioned,
said "it was an accident ; that the gun had gone
off as he was going out of the door ; ' but subse-
quently, on two or three occasions he stated his
determination to tell the truth, and said, when told
that he was to attend the inquest, " he hoped they
would not bully him, and that no one would talk to
him." He added—" The truth I shall say ; I did
the deed, I did it with all my heart ; I expected
something after my grandfather's death. I com-
mitted this in consequence that I had no home ; my
mother has been a bad mother to me." He further
said—" I sent a 'tan to inquire of the man who
made the will as to who the property was to go to
after Anne Williams's (meaning the deceased) death,
and that the man told him it was to be divided
equally between his sister and himself. He stated to
another wit, licza that ha did sot rAtoob hio aunt in
the night, as his aim would not be so good and his
sister was sleeping with her. From the appearance
of the chair it would appear that the prisoner must
have gone behind the deceased, put the muzzle
through the staves of the back of the chair, and shot
the deceased through the body.
Upon the first witness, the prisoner's sister, being
called, Mr. Coleridge objected to her being sworn,
on the ground that she had no religious belief what-
ever. His Lordship directed her to be sworn on
the noire dire, and she was examined by Mr. Cole-
ridge, and certainly bore out his view of her state ;
but on cross-examination by Mr. Giffard she said
that she believed there was a God and that he
would punish her if she did wrong. His Lordship
then allowed her examination to proceed.
Several witnesses were called in support of the
opening statement, and the facts were all substan-
tially proved. Mr. Coleridge cross-examined the
witnesses veryslightly, and in addressing the jury
told them that he was not there to deny that the
prisoner committed the crime, but that when he
committed it he was mentally incapable of knowing
the nature of the crime. He implored the jury to
take his utterly neglected and scarcely human con-
dition into consideration, and asked them, if they
thought they could not conscientiously acquit on
the grounds of insanity, at least to add that recom-
mendation which, coming from a jury rarely failed
to at least save the life of the unhappy criminal.
His Lordship summed up with great minuteness,
reading over the whole of the evidence, and told the
jury that no one could feel more for the prisoner
than he did, but he could not help saying there was
not the slightest evidence to support the learned
counsel's theory of insanity. He added, that even
a man, who is proved to have a diseased mind and
who is :subject to delusions, if he is capable of
knowing right from wrong, is still responsible for
his actions. He instanced Lord Ferrer's case, and
said that the same law applied to the highest and
the lowest.
At the conclusion of his Lordship's address the
jury retired, but returned in about 20 minutes.
There was a dense silence in the court, which was
densely crowded, and when the jury was. asked if
they had agreed, and answered "that they found
the prisoner ' guilty,' " a perfect thrill of horror ran
through the court. After a minute the jury added,
" That they strongly recommended him to mercy on
account of his youth."
His Lordship then put on the black cap, and on
the prisoner being asked whether he had anything
to say why judgment of death should not be passed
upon him, said, " He did not understand the case
from beginning to end."
His Lordship then addressed them in the follow-
ing words :—Prisoner at the bar, you have been
found guilty by the jury of the crime of murder on
the clearest and most pregnant evidence. No one
feels more compassion for you than I do. The jury
have thought fit to recommend you to mercy. I will
take care•that that recommendation is forwarded
to the highest quarter. I have no power myself to
hold out any hope to you.
The awful sentence of the law was then passed,
and the sobs and commiseration of the women in
court were most heartrending when the prisoner,
who seemed totally unconscious of what was going
on, said he wanted to see his mother.

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