The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-02-16
Airbmpnh gispatfb,
THURSDAY MORNING. ......F FEB. 10. iesO.
SENTENCE OF sTEvRHs AND uAxLIrr.

THURSDAY AONNANV. ksaSs lUs ASOU
SENTENCE OF sTEvRHs AND HAILIfT.
rhe Court.room at Ohafiestown, Va, vas
crowded Monday morning. to hsar the ssn-
teuce Of The law passed upon Haxlstt and Ste.
vens. Some tims was occupied BY counsel In
presentine bills Of exception In the case Of
Hs xlets. and II was twelve O'Clock bsfors St.
vens was brought Into The ourt.houss. The
pri,oners were brought into Court BY the
sheriff. Jatlor, and guard Of twenty men, Of
the .Jeirerson Guards" Both prisoner wore
sa unconcerued air, aad seemed unterriEed at
the awful position in which they have placed
themselves,
Tho Clerk having asked the pfisohsrs II they
had any thing to say why scntencs should not
be passed upon them, both responded that they
had.
have . few words 70 say. Some Of the testi.
mony given against me was unsrua. One Of
the witnesses stated that said. -. .e. us kill
the Of - and burn the s. Jn.' To
tnose who know me 1t 10 useiess 70 make q de.
God and man, ever having made such propo-
sition / wish to say am entirely satis6ed
with the conduct of my counsel, Mr.. Ernne ne>s.
think he did all in his power In my bshalf--
desire also to return my thanks 70 ths ON.
GERS who have had charge Of me, for their uni.
yersal kind treatment and IN my physician
for the services rendered me whilst suffering
from my wounds. When l think Of my bro
theirs slaughtered aud sisters outraged, my
conscience does not reprove me for my &C c,ion.
shall meet my fate nanfuily"
This reference is understood to be the treat
ment Of his Northern brethren aud sisters du-
ring the Kansas brOils.
HaZlett then spoke as follows:
II have a.few words to say. i am innocent
of the charge on which have been convicted.
deny ever having committed murder, or ever
having contemplated murder, or ever having
Some Of the witnesses have sworn to things
which deny, and which were positively false.
For instance in reference to my beard; ! have
never in my life, until my imprisonment in
Jail, allowed my besrd to 60 more than three
weeks without shaving, and all testimony,
therefore, as to the length Of my beard is false.
Again, Mr.. Copeland testified that was sit
ting on stool when he en- tered the cell At Gar
hsle; this deny; was sitting on q blanket
back against the wall, and anOther man was on
the stool. Copeland also said there were only
two men in the cell; this is false, as there
four other white men in the cell with me, and
we comprised all the white prisoners in the
Jail. Others Of the witnesses made false state.
ments, but forgive them all. ] have been
treated kindly since my confinement,-much
better than l had exbected,-an must say
think better Of Virginia. wish also TO return
my thanks to the counsel who have so ably de.
than Northern counsel could possibly have
done. I repeat, am innocent Of murder, but
am prepared TO meet my fate"
The prisoners having concluded Judge
sentence. during which he was much afrec ted.
and At times could with difficulty give utter
ance to the entence:
Aaron ID. Stevens, you have been indicted
and tried by Jury Of the country, and after
being defended with zeal and ability by coun.
sci Of your own choice, from your own Sec
tlon OF our common country, you have been
found guilty OF advising and conspiring with
slaves to rebel and make insurrection; and
for conspiring with John Brown and others
to rebefand make insurrection
And you, Albert Hazlett, have also been in
dicted by jury OF the country, and found
guilty OF murder in the first degree, in will
fully, deliberately, feloniously and of malice
afore thought, killing and numbering George
W. Turner, Fountain Beckham, and others,
and you have also been defended by counsel OF
this county, assigned to you at your request
by the Court, with an ability seldom equailed,
and with zeal and attention to every pOin {
in your case, whether of law or fact, that
could not have been surpassed had they been
defending citizen Of their own county.
You have been prosecuted with great abili-
wealth, and with an interest the magnitude OF
the charges required, yet, in a manner the
most iastidiOus could not accept to.
The painful du1y is devolved upon me to an
nounce thus publicly the penalty the law af-
fixes TO the crimes whereof You are found
guilty.
When l look on your comparative youth,
your gen teel appearance, and consider the men,
tai agonies you must have endured during
these prJtracted trials, I cannot help pitying
you; and could wish if the honor and dignity
Of Virgini6 the security of her citizens and
their property would authorize it, that the
law imposed less penalty than death.
The crimes in which you participated, and
Uio s1t hair
if carried to the xtent contemplated BY you
aud your accomplices and associates in arms,
FOR horror and irater rnal perfidy, would have
Lad no parallel in modern civilization since
the Massacre of St Bartholomew's eve.
But will not attempt to harrow your feel.
ines by rehearsal of the scenes at Harper's
Ferry in October last; this is now part OF the
history of our common country, and will, ]
hope, for years to come, constitute its darkest
page.
l prefer diverting your attention to youl
awful situation. For / declare to you that ]
believe you ought not to indulge in any hopes
of pardon or communication of your punish.
ment, or of the suspension Of its execution
(unless there is some error in the proceedings
OF the Court, or in its opinions, and there is
none, think,) aud To urge you to devote the
meet that Judge before whom you aud I, your
jurors and COUNCIL, and all, must appear to
render an account of the deeds done in the
body.
LOU WuO nave Decu IdlScu III tue CuTl6tldn
world must have learned that there is gra-
cious Redeemer, who invites all, even the
greatest criminals, to believe in Him, to re-
pent of their crimes, and partake of the bless
ings Of His at0nipg blood.
II You can realize your awful position, and
call on the ministers of our holy religion they
will cheerfuily, galdiy wait on you; they will
instruct you in the way that leads to life ever
lasting. They will pray with ysu and for
you; they will accompany you to the edge OF
the grave, and commend you to the great Cap
tain Of our salvation, in whom il you confide
and on Him rely, by his "rod and STAFF he
will conduct you safely through the "dark
valley OF the shadow of death.''
He then proceeded to sentence each of them
to be hung publicly on Friday, the 10th day of
March next, between the hours Of 10 O'Clock
A. NJ, and p. NJ.
Immediately after passing sentence, the
Court remanded the prisoners to Jail, and the
crowd drawn together to witness the proceed
inxs quietly dispersed.
A PAIR or 'EM.-The recent visit Of the Le-
gislatures Of Kentucky and Tennessee to Ohio,
has given rise to a few good things. We print
two from tho Cincinnati Commercial:
"The Kentucky papers tell of q good joke