The New era. [volume] ([Portsmouth, Va.]) 1845-1847, 1846-04-28
From the Ledger.
ACQUTTTAL OF POLLY BoDINE

Whoever will hereafter doubt that in the CITY
or State of New York, the administration of the
laws for the protection of person and property,
are anything better than a contemplate farce,
" would not believe, though one were to rise from
the dead" Polly Bodine, tried lately for the
tenth time. if we mistake not, though it may
have been no more than the ninth, has been ac-
quilted, and is therefore Sc made an honest woman
OF, and been discharged. Most of our readers
may remember the principal features of her case
The wife and child OF her brother were murder
ed. and consumed in their dwelling during the
absence Of the husband and Polly Bodine was
charged with the murder and arson. She was
Indicted and tried in the county of Richmond, on
Staten Island, where the murder was committed
Several days were consumed in obtaining jury,
as almost every was excluded because he
had " formed an opinion upon the accounts of
the murder which he had read or heard A jury
being obtained at last, she escaped under that
convenient expedient in these days, for licensing
murder, disagreement. She was tried again
IN the same county, under the Same difficulties
and again permitted to escape through the same
expedlent. third attempt at trial was made,
and failed because nobody could be found who
had not " formed an opinion" The case was
then removed to another county, and she was
tried at Newburg. and acquitted And thus
ends this solemn farce! This mockery Of law,
uColS"th w p'bbcCh HE MS peTf6ISlOn
of legal forms to the license of murderl 1t is
another Tirrell case, another Robinson case,
another anti-rent case
No man of common sense can read the tss,i-
Rony offered on the various trials of Polly Bodine,
without believing that she committed the murder
and arson charged against her. But this is not
enough, in these days Of mawkish sympathy tor
crime. and heartless indifference for its vic'im.,
TO satisfy q" an honest and enlightened Jury.
Jurors must be present at the commission Ji
murder, must actually see the blow stricken aud
the victim die under it, and entertain NOT li!o
least doubt about the identity and sanity oE the
Murderer, before they screw Up their moral
courage to conviction. And even then, over
powered by philanthropy, we believe that is
the word, which regards the life of one murderer
AZ more valuable than those of a dozen victims,
they must recommend the wretch to mereyt
g Where is this going TO end 2'' Messrs. In
quirers, we have the end already, in the frequent
commission of murder In New York, in our
own State, in Massachusetts, Virginia, every
State and Territory of the Union, murder is
almost daily occurrence, murderers we'll know
ing that plea Of insanity, disagreement Of
jury, recommendation to mercy and a pardon,
furnish certainty of escape. Does all this pro-
coed from tenderness for human life Not all.
lf we change the punishment from death to i'm
PriSonment, mawkish philanthropy will decIam
against that penalty, as loudly as against that OF
death and in the administration of law, counsel
viii use quite as many ingenious expedients, and
courts will encourage them quite as much as az
present. The fault is in public opinion. Men
are corrupted into sympathy for crime, and want
the moral courage to be honest. But il a change
of tho penalty for murder will render convictions
more frequent, let us try the experiment. At
present, throughout the Union, laws for the pro-
lection Of personal mmunitiss are miserable
farce.