Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-06-07
THE GAZETTE.
MONDAY MORNING, JUNE 7, 1858.
JURIES INDICTED.


1t may appear to be an eccen'r'cIty OF
Justice to ipdict jurors for their acts, as such;
certainly it is . novelty as far as we Know;
but it may possibly turn out to he the true
remedy for the constant perverslons OF our
criminal law " hich are perpetrated under the
cloak Of that AnelC-Sixon bul~ark of our
liberties, the jury system. A year ago cold
blooded and aircci0us aasaasin.tinn was con-
mitted 10 the streets Of Memphis. Tennessee,
By one Isaac L. Bolton, who killed highly
respected citizen of that place named James
Mcmillan, 10 an unprovoked and wanton
manner. Bolton, however, was wealthy. and
notwithstanding the pnblic evaporation
against him for the murder, after bis arrest
efforts were made to effect bis release from
prison, by the means of writs OF habess cor
pus. which were made returnaoie az places
acme distance from Memphis, in order, it
was charged. that his rescue or escape might
be effected on the road. So indignant were
the citizens of Memphis that they nulifed
the laws, took possession of the prison, with
the Mayor at their head and refused to allow
the TAILOR to obey the writs served upon him.
To such pitch did the excitement proceed
that it wac with great difficulty the people,
who felt convinced there was conspiracy to
get Bolton clear, could be prevented FROM ia.
king him out of the Jail. and precluding the
necessity Of trial and the jugglery Of the
courts, by hanging him on the spot They
contented themselves, however, with keeping
him secure until he was indicted and his case
came on to be tried, when on the allegation
that he could not have fair trial III Mem
phio, the case was removed to Upton county,
when, to the establishment of every one, Boil
ton was acquitted. This result it seems.
excited the lveiest indignation in every
quarter. The composition OF the jury be-
gan to be scrutinized, ard precious party
they proved to be. The Grand Jury directly
thereafter indicted four of the twelve for
perjury, three of whom were arrested and
locked up for trial, the fourth escaped. An.
other was tried at the came court on a Grim
insl charge, convicted and sentenced for for
ty days to the country prison, there being an
indictment for an attempt to kill also pend
ing against bin. An indictment for murder
WAS found against another of the jury, and one
named Lane was indicted for bribing some Of
the jurors How these men succeeded in be-
ing empanpelled to try the case of Bolton
does not appear, though it is evident that it
could not have been etIc ;ted except by off,
cial conuivance and unserupslous profession
al aid. But the people Of Upton county,
Tennessee, have taken the bull by the horns.
They deserve credit for what they have done.
They feel indignant that their locality should
have been made use Of to perpetrate such
fraud on Law and justice, and appear resolved
to wipe out the stain az far as IN their power.
The time has passed when the verdict
Of a jury which acquits villain can be
deemed conclusive and aquiesced in as fiat
of fate. Jurors clothed with the pauoply Of
their position should be allowed 90 longer
with IMMUNITY to outrage alike the public
sentiment and the demands of justice by an
sutocratic expression of their will IN the
shape Of what they choose to call verdict.
1t is time that juries should be made to feel
that there is something superior to their pre-
negatives, and that their serdicts do not ter
inmate their responsibility, and that they
are called upon to pass upon the cases sub
mitted to them not according to their
caprice, their interests or their inclina-
tons, but according to the rules OF law
aud Justice. 10 short, when men in the
jury box commit crime to enable the Grim.
inal on trial before them to escape the penal
ty of bis trsnsgressions, they should be made
to know that they can be punished, md they
should be punished. The man who goes
into jury box for The purpose of procuring
the acquittal Of o prisoner or who corruptly
returns a verdict contrary to the evidence, is
guilty of perjury not only morally but legal
ly. The reports of our criminal trials
throughout the country show that these Cffen-
ces are alarmiogly frequent. They sap the We
~ foundations Of justice and must be checked.
The hint given by the grand jury OF Upton
county, Tennessee. may be practiced III on
elsewhere, no doubt greatly to the purifcu-
ton of our administration of criminal justice
The jury should be stripped of its irrespon-
sible cloak as a collective body, and, in all
cases, where courts or prosecuting officers
have cause to doubt, from their verdics,
their integrity, they should be disintegrated
and each individual that composed it sub
jected to thorough scrutiny, and ifcotnplcr
ty or crime be detected. prosecution and pun
ishment should follow swift apon it.-BaH
amer.
~~OTICE To THE OWNERS OF Dogs