New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-06-08
CTRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.

7, ne Editor If The y. Y TT's1Ae'
s,R Every lover of public morality owns the necessity
# adeouste penalty for crime, when crime has been
proved beyond all reasonable doubt. IL is common al
mission also that it better that ten guilty persons should
oscape punishment than innocent person suffer Tho
rs however is not az to the nature OF general prin
;p,es butn their application TO specific eases In pro-
rortop TO the severity the penalty is the difficulty et
by these who are called TO decide the ut or oil
the accused in view of evidence given under osth we
DO not pretend ignore the power AMI eoneiusNenss
crcunstsntial evidence in certain cases, but we hinK
solemn duty 10 guard the Liberty and lives OF our citizens
from unjust harm by keeping before the public Jae prov
ing that this Kind of evidence not always to be- relied on
Two facts have lately 10 knowledge which have
a decided bearing on this point.
1t happened within ten years. in place which we know
very well that on certain nigh, four slept in the
same room at a country In the morning one 81
then, found that his pccketbook containing few dollars
in money and some notes OF hand, had been absrae'ed
from his pocket On inquiry was ascertained that one
Of hs had Left the house early in the
morning and suspicion turned toward HIM. on gong 70
tb man. house il was found that his wife knew nothing
about him. only that examining his wardrobe
she found that his best suit of clothes was gone,
with some other articles, such some tools used
nv him as a mechanic, which she knew were IN
the house the night before Ii very plru tnat me
man had away. and OF course every one conclude!
TO the where it supposed he woad take
the morning train Of and was found, as iurtne<
suspicious that the fugitive had avoided inc
town going around through the woods and instead ~
doing as honest he took his seat IN the omnous
for the cars mile or from town in the woods Here
he arrested and taken back lie owned that he was
running away on account OF family difficulties but pro-
tested that he knew nothing u the robbery lie was
searched but not trace of the stolen things could be
found and vet every body believed him the guilty man.
because the circumstances were So strong against hum
Although bailed by friend 4 put on trial the case Womb
certainly have gone against him.
few weeks at,erward an officer who was prvy to tho
fact that the person robbed had made affidavit to the kinds
of money in his pocket book found IN an eating house ~
merest accident particular bill sworn 10 with cor
nsr torn off in such peculiar shape that II could not
be mistaken and inquiry, II was found to have been
paid by a man who slept in the with the man who
was robbed lie was a whose character had been 80
lair that no suspected him in the least but when
he was arrested ne - una Sn nc ~ .nu,p conc
dences pointing actual guilt than in the case OF the first
person suspected condolences remarkable that had
murder been the crime and he put trial. they would
have been deemed sufficiently strong to have warranted
conviction. And yet in spite OF the condolences the man
entirely innocent
The other ease that of stage driver in charge of
ma-coach which robbed. He was arrested aud put
trial aught that ever heard before an entirely
impartial Court The various src%s'ances against mn,
were laid before the jury and all these circumstances
perfectly true There only one circumstance which
was calculated to weigh feather in favor Of the accused
and that his solemn and unvarying proestaon that
he asnnocent of the crime and could give account II
the way in which the mail was robbed How much such
an assertion from stage driver would weigh we leave
others to Judge The Jury quickly and unanimously
to their verdict Of guilty and the Court with even less
apprehcnsions about mistakes than usual sentenced the
man for a long to the State Prison. He labored in
that prison as a convict for two years and then
died in a conyicts cell, in convicts clothes. On his
deatlbed before the Court he continued to assert his
innocence us the presence Of that God before whom ha
was about to appear.
Some years after his death OF whose integrity but
few INDUCED any suspicious before and whose position
was such as To afford him great facilities for committing
this crime found to be a mail robber largo scale,
and there was evidence that he had been engaged in tho
business for many years. When this became known, then
people allied the fact that the trial Of the poor stage
driver out in evidence that this very man. in az
official capacity in that very coach the very night
of the robbery 1t is the universal belief that the
stagelriyer wrongfuy convicted ON unusually sats-
factory circunstanta evidence and that he died in prison
greatly injured man. the real criminal having conc un-
whipped of Justice
These and similar show how careful any jury or
court should be in branding accused person feon
upon the ground of ccumstana evidence alone especially
where life il involved And needed any ether consid
Grafton this thought would derive from that
nexpessble Of relief which juror feels who
has brought in verdict of guilty in capital case, when
the accused has confessed his guilt And II So ought
as members of society liable any time to be involved 10
the meshes of crcumtanta evidence give such 70
public morals this point that the innocent shall be
deprived Of liberty life these grounds, which many
cases prove to be sufficiently dangerous.