The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-01-24
TRIAL OF PETER CORRIE
AT TOWSONTOWN,
FOR THE MURDER OF POLICE OFFICER
RIGDON
MIN III UA I.

d. TowsoNTowN January 22d 1859.
CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CoUNTY.-Hou. John
h. Price, Judge Richard J. Gittings ESQ., States At
torney prosecuting. Assisted by Arthur L. Machen ESQ
v. william Preston! Esq; for the defence.
State rs Peter Corre, indicted for the murder OF police
officer Robert NJ Rgdon, by shooting him with pistol
| on the 5th of November last
On the opening of the Court this morning, Arthur W
Machen ESQ., assistant counsel for the State and
addressed the jury
Mr.. Machen commenced his argument by stating that
one OF the strongest circumstances against
oner was the ncontroyertbe evidence of guilt which
was surrounded at the time of the commission of the mur
der He alluded to what he had promised in his opening
speech to prove and appealed to the jury bear him
in the assertion that he had far exceeded what he
promised-the evidence had gone far beyond what the
State had promised to produce. 1t was not wonderful
then that the venerable gentleman the other side had
considered his duty endeayor to combat step by
step this of evidence which weighed down 50
/ heavily upon, and, indeed, almost seemed to crush
recital of the testimony should Shock that WORTHY
gentleman The learned gentleman who appears coun-
sci for the prisoner admits that this bloody murder was
| committed-he admits that somebody must have
committed the deed yet cannot bear to look at the
lacts as presented for the simple reason that
these facts to be that
| the prisoner is proved to be the guilty man.
Mr. NJ then went on to contend that pistol shot does
not prove the act OF murder-there must always be
human agent and the evidence produced in this case
clearly shows that the prisoner at the bar the agent
the occasion OF the murder of officer Rgdon. The duty
juries regards the rendering verdict according to
the evidence produced, fully explained The indct
ment was then alluded tot joint instrument
Corrie and Crops are jointly indicted for the murder
Rgdon-they are jointly arraignedthey connected
jury of his countrymen has found Marion Crops gull
N and as there has been proved joint conspiracy be
the crime, they must therefore both suffer alike and one
succeeded in getting of unpunshed should the other
IN law 1t makes difference who fired
they were both there and there present-he murder
committed and both are equally guilty Two great
associations were in that murder Crops
lied with the Rip Raps, and Corrie with the Plugs
the law happily made distinctions and treated all
allke, without respect to persons. Both these
guilty, and clearly guilty of the murder Of Rigdon and
it amounts to this that either Crops illegally con-
vced or the jury who fails to convict his companion
the crime, convicts themselves The and
modes Of murder were then explained to the jury
have thus motive; others may take human life in the
heat of excitement, but here have singular pecu
mar and almost unprecedented casethe commission of
wifu murder in order that outrage and may rule
over law and usticethe nicon of summary justice
an honest witness who dared to tell the TRUTH in the
mission OF crime of this kind no have >the
hardhood to do the deed it of necessity be
Corrie'
If Crops deserved punishment he asked in the name
oflaw and justice what should be the portion of this prs
oner He said that not only to satisfy the nfraction Of
the law did he demand the conviction prisoner
that warning might be held to deter the Of
evil doers with which the city of Baltimore is ag
tated These men can only be deferred from the commits
sion Of crime by the severity of the punishment visited
upoe them He urged the jury not to let he said that
the law lottery; that for the offence different
ures would bring in different verdics and thus furnish
| those who commit crime with for doing, by
hazard
Mr. Machen desired to inform the Jury upon one or two
points of law which he thought needed calculation. He
then read from I'd Hawkins Pleas of the Crown page 442
sec book l, chap. 29 and from I'd Stakey pages 5th
and 6th wherein it is laid down that if it only be
: shown that the prisoner aiding and abeng he
presumed equally guilty with his prisoner If wa,
present when a murder was committed by B, in a
secret and private place, and does not raise hue and
law he is considered by tacitiy consentng to the
commission of the deed, and is, therefore, equally
Mr. Machen stated that the authorities bearing upon
case could be multiplied indefinitely; he said that he
would not worry their patience much longer. He then
10 casH nF md nrtaI IN, DpI
Darlington and Kerwin, page 3S2 In this the in
dicment was near exactly the in the present.
but it could not be found which actually did the
deed, hut it proved that both the in
pany at the time Of the commission of the crime and
were considered aiding and abettng other. They
were both therefore found guilty by the jury and
cuted.
Mr. Machen next called to the notice of Mr.. Preston
reading it to the jury the report of the case of
Law. He then read from 9th Pickering, page 517 where
it again laid down that il evidence is produced
prove who actually did strike the mortal blow among
or more persons accused Of the crime, and they all
proved to be present aiding and abeng, they must all
be punished alike. Mr. Machcn continued his remarks
by stating that the attempt Of the defence to prove
, futile
Wharon's criminal law, page 112, also read and
pounded In this book it is laid down that il mar
knows that another was dangerous and goes abou
with him. having only indstnct notions of what he
tends doing and the bad man commits murder the othe
is held by the law as confederate He referred to the
marks OF the counsel for the defence, that the prisone
had been duped into this affair." and said that the evdenc
did not sustain him He conended that if the prisone
was proved to be dupe, and influenced to commi
the deed by the persuasons any inducements of
stronger minded man, he none the less guilty. AL
the jury have to do with the is find
the deed not IF they convinced that the prisoner
did the deed aided and abetted in its commission
whether he was the tool of another not they mus
bring in verdict of guilty.
The law does not look upon nto1caion as an excuse
Tor the commission Of the crime of murder 1t is
that man under the influence of liquor would take Of
fence at trivial thing than sober man. while
in the heat of excitement he might strike mortal blow
yet he does not escape punishment.
Thus unprecedented killing would not be considered
murder in the first degree the perperaor OF the deed
would be held responsible and punished for murder in the
second degree
Mr. Machen then read the Act of 1902 sec g. chap 1873
in which murder is defined.
He also substanated his the law does not
look upon drunkenness excuse or palliaton for
crime by citing passages from 9th Law Reporter page
564 There is no harshness in the law. If can by
must be punished for it-drunkenness is no paation
In concluding, Mr. Machen read Judge Prices charge
to the jurors the opening of the present of this
nerce. This charge he said, needed comment-it
covered all the ground
Mr. Machen contended that if man identifies himself
with such associations the Plugs, Rip Raps &c. he
must bear the opprobrum which the evil career of such
associations necessarily entail upon Its members
He then went into a review of the case: he remarked
that find the prisoner, when home in company with
abandoned men, he goes away for eighteen months; what
he does then has nothing to do with the case but find
him on his return more ready to commit crime.
By the fruit we can judge of his education abroad
When he left the city, he "Piug," it the
germ; when he returns he is full blown Plug and fit
|
less set omen What state fhingsis that which arked
the career OF these men in and about the Mt Vernon
Truck House?
When officers of the law-men into whose hands is
placed the safety and guardianship of large city,
publicly threatened with death and the threats
red into execution, what is the argumentH Did any Of
the officers dare to arrest criminal the neighborhood
OF the Mt Vernon Trnck house No. his very life woult
have paid the forfeit.
In all the bros and contentious of these men we find
Corrie taking active part in all their doings We find
Corrie in restaurant endeavoring to ntimidate wit
ness against his friend companion, and leader, Gam
S brill.
We find him again assocating with these abandoned
men, endeavoring to their leader after the jury
had pronounced upon his head most just verdict Mr.
Machen inquired the nature his connection with thes
Plugs that occasion He asked if it leader
ship. All the evidence deduced goes to prove that hi
+ was a leader among them.
Mr.. Machen then reviewed the evidence, traced the
prisoner step by step the night of the murder from
the court house until he Penn street and
showed tnat he equally guilty with Marion Crops
He appealed to the jury for verdict of murder in the frs
degree and said that he trusted to their sound judgment
for such verdict.
Mr. Machsn concluded his argument at hafpast one
The Court then took recess for one hour.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Upon the assembling Of the Court at half past two
O'Clock Mr. Preston arose. and addressed the Jury the
part of the defence
Mr.. Preston commenced by saying, that it never de
voved him to to the consideration of the
jury the defence OF the prisoner He said these trials had
already occupied considerable time having been com
menced the third of the present month During the
whole of this time he could say with propriety, that he
and If he had misunderstood or msconsrued them it Ger
ainywas not becausehe extremely anxious compre
hend them With all this and diligence confessed
that he approached the defence of prisoner with
treme solictude. After audng to the points of
law as advanced by the counsel for the State
he said that the facts in the would not bear
, them out in the references which they had made
He contended that the same law applied in the
Crops did not apply to the of his client 1t
easy task, said he to separate folly from crime weak
from viciousness; what divides them and where
begins and the other ends, is extremely difficult to say
He then said the duty of the jury duty they
to their country and their God to look well into this ma
ter weigh the evidence and reflect upon the pre-
sened before they made up verdict claimed by tn
}. State.
Mr. Preston then referred to his position in connec
: tion with the case, and disclamed any sympath.
with the awIess referred to by counse
in this and the of Crops; he there profes
sionay to do his duty to his CLIENT he had in common
with themselves the interest in the manainance
laws of the land and could lend countenance to the
perverson of those laws SHALL said he endeayor to dc
my duty and only ask you, gentlemen, to do yours.
Mr. Preston then referred to the remarks made by the
assistant counsel for the State upon opening the
that he had showed uneasiness from the start and tina
that uneasiness upon his part was to be construed
ton, and said that there uneasness manifested
his part it because the counsel had entered into
argument before the jury before word of evidence
produced, fact in the substantiated-a
unusual practice.
Mr. Preston said he was surprised at the view taken
this by the States officers that there but
here issue and that this question had
conceded that if there murder committed it
der in the first degree 1t great mistake to sup
pose that when two parties indicted for homicide
v both equally guilty. The counsel had advance,
IF this proposition he thought rather dd cdptdndn Th
counsel also that the issue in the
same and asks shall We have law for the "Trip Raps
and another for the Plugsn He would address no ar