The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1856-11-19

i A HORRIBLE CATALoGgE OF CR1ME.-The
verdict of the jury in Tppah county, Mississip-
pi. in the case of Smith, convicted of the pre-
meditated murder of his own son, has excited
no small surprise wherever it has been made
known. A more horrible, disgusting and fend-
like crime, is not to be found in the criminal
records. Unless a maniac Smith deserves
death, if any crime should be so punished; and
yet the jury bring in verdSt of manslaughter,
with confinement in the penitentiary! The
death penalty is a mockery, in the face of such
verdicts as this. Judge Scruggs in passing
sentence, Justly rebukes the looseness of admin
istering the law, in the following strong terms:
s'In relieving the testimony in the case, l
am convinced that, while the verdict affords to
you abundant cause of qualification and relief.
it is at the same time, to every intelligent mind
familiar with the facts, source of special won
der. And although it may have been honest
lv made up, it has inflicted upon this commu
nifty deeper and more lasting injury, than was
done by the crime which it is intended to pun
i ish The proof shows that on various occasions
previous to the death of your son. you INDUCED
insarous unkind remarks concerning him, and
while the earth was yet fresh upon his grave,
,swhen charged with having killed him, you de-
MED the fact, but added, that often before his
death, you would have killed him if you had
had gun, but damn him, he knew you had
no gun On another occasion, you spoke OF
him to Miss Bass as an idle drunkard, (of which
there is no proof, and expressed an intention
4 to kill him. Still later and net more than a
month or two before you killed him, you stated
that you sauld very easily make pretence OF
friendship, whilst concealing weapon, and by
throwing him off his guard, you could strike a
blow that could enable you to take his life,
witsut danger of being hurt yourself, altho'
he might be much stronger than you. That
you could then pile limbs or fallen boughs OF
trees upon him, and no one could tell but that
thev had fallen upon and killed him; concud-
ing this horrible recital with the remark, "l'll
: be damned if the limbs shan't fall upon him. -
| The proof further shows that within a month OF
t two after this you went to the field where the
: deceased was alone at work-that you struck
:; four blows on the head, either one of which was
sufficient to produce death. Two Of which, ac-
cording to the opinion of learned medical gen
tlemen, could have been inflicted only with a
sharp metallic instrument, and Just such as
would have resulted from the use Of the axe,
which it is in proof you had inquired for and
obtained that morning. You then piled upon
: him some limbs, the breaks in which shows
S that they were not recently blown down, and
r so far from any trees, that if they had beer
+ freshly fallen limbs, they could not have faller
! on him. With his skull mashed or broken ir
at three Or four places, part OF his tongue GU
a off the limbs lying upon his body, his hanc
, still holding to his plough line, welterlng In hi:
! gore, and struggling in the last throes OF dis
solving nature, you, his father and at the same
b time his murderer, left him alone in this con
dition, and retired quietly to your little shop
: to pursue your work. as thouy h nothing un
: usual had occurred. 1t is further in proof tha
n shortly after the enactment Of this horrible
S scene, a little brother Of the deceased, who wa
at work out of sight in another part Of the farm
h was attracted toward the spot by the barking
y of his faithful dog, going to see the cause OF it
1t discovered the condition of the deceased H
e Immediately ran to the house and gave th
It alarm His distracted wife, with the true in
e stincts of woman, fled to the scene, and as she
e poor woman, vainly hoped, to the relief Of he
: over the mangled body of your own.son, in th
o ear of his confdisg and distracted wife, yol
e dared to add the crime of fulsehood to murder
G and misead and abuse hee confidence by sug
4 gesting as you had originally planned to do
y that the limbs of the trees had fallen upon ant
o killed him-thus putting inquiry upon falls
Z scent, to divert it from YOURSELF and concea
t your horrid orime And when his knife, th
: instrument which there is no doubt you used il
: seyering his tongue, was found upon the ground
d under his body, open and bloody, you suggest
7 ed to his wife that it must have fallen from hi
e pocket and opened in the fall. Guilty man! a
e that point in this awful scene spoke the voic
e which tells to all, ''be sure your sin will fn'
YOU out" That false suggestion with other
:, set inquiry afoot, for the wife was familiar wit
), the Knife, and knew as she testified, that it wa
e strong knife, and difficult to open.
d "If anything could add to the injury of you
S chid's murder, the means to which you hav
e resorted TO excuse or palliate the offence, wou
IS doit Not content with cruelty numbering you
n own son, and that, too. while lie was in tn
IS very act OF laboring for your support; but, t
save yourself from the consequences of that act
a you have endeavored to blacken his mcmor
e by associating his name with deeds of dishopo
Il toward his own sister, not then twelve years c
j. age, and, as though YOU really designed
Is make your infamy too deep to admit anothe
l. shade, YOU have caused that poor child to cor
e firm your accusation, and to do so, too, in tn
@ face of proof and under circumstances that full
,r satisfied every intelligent listener that the Who'll
h was fabrication. In the result of that attenI
J. to blacken the memory of your murdered chile
r and that, too, by destroying the character {
r the living, we have another striking Illustrate
g of the impotence of falsehood and vice, whe
Y confronted by truth and justice That very a
y tempt led to the disclosure of the horrifyny fat
As that an older, virtuous and truthful daughtt
% of yours had to be removed from home, an
is placed out to live elsewhere by that very brothe
II to free her from the disgust and annoyance
your ncestuous associations. If there be yet
depth of depravity, untouched by proof in thi
at l freely confess that it lies beyond the range
IN my imagination. And yet in the face of all tn
o. proof so distinct, so undenlably bringing on
of and filling up to their full measure all the ell
of ments OF murder, twelve jurors of the countl
E. have been found TO return verdict in etie
" that you did not intend to kill! In the nan
al of reason and of truth, what did you intend,
v YOU did not intend to kill?