Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1852-05-10
OF THE DEATH PEN
Atty"

fishes at length the record of the case, of Jordan
Hatcher. slave recently condemned to death by
the Hastings Court of this city, for the murder of
young Jackson,-and whose sentence has been
commuted TO transportation by Governor johnson.
The publication is induced, that paper says, by
the request of the friends of the Governor, in
consequence of an indignation meeting having
been called last night" and to show what large
number of respectable citizens signed the petition
of the prisoner, their names and occupations are
appended to the publication.
Now we freely declare our opposition in
principle, to these " indignation meetings."
whether before or after the event of Ex-
ecutive action, which are designed as irregu-
lar check in terrorem upon the action of the reg
ularly constituted agents of the Government
That is not the mode in which it was designed by
the constitution, that official sponsibity should
be enforced. It may do for San Francisco and
other Democratic communities nearer home which
we might mention, but hardly suits the meridian
of Richmond. If there has been corruption in
the Executive action, (of which we wholly &C.
quit the Governor,1 the constitutional resort of
impeachment is open. If, on the contrary, the
case merely shows the incompetency of that off
Ger for the fit exercise of the pardoning power,
or any other of the responsible powers of the Ex-
ecutive Department of the Government. This is
an evil which the people of Virginia have delibe-
rately brought upon themselves, and for which
there is now no remedy,
The power of pardon is one of the highest and
most delicate responsibility 1t is the only supen-
ding power known to our laws, and has been
placed under many guards and cautions, constitu-
tional and legal yet from its nature, it is necessari-
ly extremely indefinite and vague in its practical
limitations. But the single consideration that its
exercise proposes to set aside the judgments of the
courts-the best modes ofascertaining truth, which
human wisdom has been able to devise--exercsed
upon evidence sifted and winnowed from impure
ty by the forms of legal enquiry and to set those
judgments aside upon er parte and unsworn rep
reservations, often interested and often the spuri
Gus offspring of that cheap and equivocal virtue
sympathy, which costs nothing, is enough to teach
the most profound and deliberate caution in the
application of what may be termed the extreme
remedy of the constitution. That it is proper the
Governor should in such cases heed the manifes-
tations the public sentiment around him. is clear
enough, and in this instance it may be considered
that they assumed form which challenged res
Pecttul consideration but were not of a charac-
ter, we think, to yndicate the Executive action in
this mode of judicial review. We say judicial,
because it is not pretended that the mitigation of
the sentence proceeded upon any other ground
than the evidence given in the case. Yet be-
tween statement and evidence there could scarce
ly be wider discrepancy, even in the efforts of
odu u. IL
there were four persons slaves) present at the ca
tastrophe The deceased was white overseer of
the accused and other slaves in a tobacco factory
The statesments most favorable to the prisoner are
made by the witnesses, Heath and Bankers
Heath says Jackson reproved Jordan (the accused)
about some dirty stems Jordan had on his bench
Mr.. Jackson attempted to whip Jordan, and did
give Jordan several blows with the cowhde, when
Jordan caught hold of the cowhide. Mr.. Jack
son told Jordan to let go the cowhide, but Jordan
acoutd not let go, and Mr.. Jackson kicked Jordan,
and they had russell, and Jordan pushed Mr..
jackson of, and picked up the iron poker and
struck MIR. jackson blow with it on the forehead.
Bankers says-''Mr Jackson looked at Jordan's
stems, and found fault with them. and asked Jor-
dan if he had not told him not to have dirty stems
on his bench, and said he would whip him. Jor-
don said that he had told him so and that he
would try to do better if he would not whip him.
MIR. Jackson said he would whip him about it first
and make him do it. Mr.. Jackson did cut Jordan |
several times with the cowhde, and Jordan caught |
hold of the cowhde and asked Mr.. Jackson not to |
whip him any more. Mr.. J. told him to come out |
by the stove and Jordan did so. Witness saw no |
more OF the matter, &C.. but shortly after he heard
q sort of cry, &c. The blow with the poker frac-
tued the skull and forced portions of the skull into
the opening and upon the brain. The accused
Immediately after inficting it escaped
Now, applying the law of master and appren-
tlce to this case, there was attempt at correc-
ton for an acknowledged and repeated fault, in
the usual manner-not undue nor severe-but
as the master might lawfully infict-of which he
was the judge-and to which it was the duty f
the slave to submit-the occurrence was in the
presence of other slaves subject to the same au-
thorlty-ln the bosom of a slave holding commu-
nifty, in which are hundreds of slaves EMPLOYED
in factories, managed each perhaps by one or two
whites whose lives depend the enforcement of |
subordnation and obedience-upon this attempt |
at lawful correction, follows resistance-by the |
snve-a tuSSel, in the course of which the 81 ave
pushed the master of and might have escaped
and them instead of escape, the seizing and en-
ploying deadly weapon-an1 Death inflicted
by it This murder-and SO adjudged by
the constituted authority, solemnly and upon the
evidence-with no appearance of haste, excite
ment, or passion. Yet it is punished merely by
a change ofAe Slaue's residence. To yield life
thus forfeited by the law, to the Importantly of
individuals. however respectable, falls within the
proper scope of the pardoning power.