The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-11-06
VOL. V.

be informed of the nature and causo If Tho -.
cusation, to be confronted with the wi,nos.o.
against him, to have compulsory process for
obtaining witness in his favor, and to have
the assistance of counsel-guaranties necps-
sary 10 secure innocence against hasty or win.
dlctive Judgment; absolutely necessary to pre-
vent injustice Grant that they were not in.
tended for slaves, every master of slave INNS.
feel that they are still morally binding upou
him. He is the sole judge: he alone deter.
mines the offence the proof requisite to estab.
lish it and the amount of the punishment The
slave then has peculiar claim upon him for
justice. When charged with a crime. common
humanity requires that he should be informed
OF it that he should be confronted with the
witnesses against him, that he should be per.
mitted to show evidence in favor of his npo-
cence
But how was poor Lewis treated The son
of Castleman said he had discovered who stole
the money, and it was forthwith determined
that the offenders should DO punished at once,
and before they should knog of the discovery
that had been made" Punished without a
hearing Punished on the testimony of a
house-seryant the nature of which does not ap
pear to have been inquired into by the Court
Not word is said which authorizes the belief
that any careful examination was made as it
respects their guilt. Lewis and Reuben Were
assumed, on loose evidence, without deliberate
investigation, to be guilty, and then, without
allowing them to attempt to show their inno-
cence they were whipped, until confession of
guilt was extorted by bodily pain.
Is this Virginia justice!
Lewis was punished with "a broad leat6ern
strap"-he was punished severely this we
do not need to be told. broad leathern
strap" is well adapted to severity of punish
ment. Nor was it pretended" the account
says gin any quarter, that this punishment
implicated either his Life OF. his health" This.
is false; it was expressly stated in the news
paDer accounts Mt the time, and such was the
general impression Il, the seigip0fnooi, tnat
the punishment did very severely impIcate his
| life. But more of this anon
Lewis was left. A chain was fastened round
his neck, so as not to choke him. and secured
to the joist above, leaving slack of about a
foot and a half Remaining in an upright DO
sition, he was secure against strangulation. but
he could neither sit nor kneel and should he
faint he would be choked to death The ac
count says that they fastened him thus, for the
purpose of securing him. If this had been the
sole object it could have been accomplished
by safer and less cruel methods as every reader
must know. This mode of securing him was
intended probably to intimidate him, and at
the same time afforded some qualification to
the vindictive feeling which controlled the act
ors in this foul transaction. The man whom
they left to watch Lewis said that after re-
naming there about half an hour, he went
home; and Lewis was then alive The Castle
mans say that after furnishing Reuben, they re-
turned having been absent not more than half
an hour, and they found him hanging by the
neck dead. We direct attention to this part
of the testimony, to show how loose the state
ments were which went to make up the evil
dence.
Why was Lewis chained at all, and man
left to watch him. To secure him, say the
Castienans. Is it customary to chain slaves in
this manner, and set watch over them, after
severe punishment to prevent their running
away? If the punishment of Lewis had not
been unusual, and if he had not been threat
ened with another infction, on their return,
there would have been no necessity for chain
ing him.
The testimony of the man left to watch rep
resents him as desperate, apparently with pain
and fright Lewis asked for a box to stand
on :" why? Was he not suffering from pain and
exhaustion, and did he not wish to rest him.
self, without danger of slow strangulation!
Again he asked for something he could
jump off from y latter the Castlemans left, he
expressed fear when they came back that he
would be whipped again; and said if he had a
knife, and could get one hand loose, he would
cut his throat"
The punishment that could drive him to such
desperation must have been horrible.
How long they were absent, we know not,
for the testimony on this point is contradictory.
They found him hanging by the neck, dead,
"his feet thrown behind him, his knees a few
inches from the floor and his head thrown for
ward Just the position he would naturally
fall into had he sunk from exhaustion. They
wish 1t to appear that he hung himself Could
this be proved 1--WE need hardly say that it is
not) it would relieve but slightly the dark pic
ture of their guilt. The probability is that he
sank, exhausted by suffering, fatigue, and fear.
AS to the testimony of surgeons" founded
upon post norton examination of the brain
and blood vessels IT that the subject could not
have tainted before strangulation," it is not
worthy of consideration. We know something
of the fallacies and fooleres of such examna-
tons
From all we can learn the only evidence re-
lied on by the prosecution was that white man
employed by the Castlemans. He was depend
ent upon them for work Other evidence might
have been obtained why it was not is for the
Prosecuting Attorney to explain. To prove
what we say and to show that justice has not
been done in this horrible affair, we publish the
following communication from an old and
highly respectable citizen of this place and
who is very far from being an Abolitionist
The shareholders whom he mentions are well
known here and would have promptly appear
ed in the case, had the Prosecution, which was
aware of their readiness, summoned them.
To the Editor of the Era:
| see that Castleman, who lately had a trial
g. II. L. IL r,rTDW
"hTumphantiy acquitted n-as many expected
There are three persons in this CITY, with whom