New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-04-30

In the good old times, when wratOhea swung
not 6nffequently rssorted to what als law apty
termed the peiae forte Ell 1ure-nAniely. = pressing
TO DEATH for refusing to plead. Ths system cor
tinus Ni i vogue tn l15a whes Y s. vsa pasass
deemed guilty the same as fhcuE]i ~ 8 Verdict az
jury. The !" press yard ak NeNgntss md par-
haps at other prisons yet, we believe, retain. ias
purpose. We have before Us p curious print re-
presenting q criminal in the act OF being pressed
to death. He is extended fat on his back, -
arms and feet drawn apart at full stretch and se-
cured to staples in the floor; . piece Of plank =
on bis body, and on that number Of heavy
weights.
There seems to have been two kinds Of criminals
who formerly refused to plead to theR indictments:
the one, men Of property, who, BY suffering death
by pressure instead Of hanging, preserved their
landed estates to their children Or heirs, which
and been found guilty by the jury The otAar
class were ignorant determined men who fonIis1In
| imagined that by obstinately refusing to plea.
they should eventually escape the punishment do
When no argument could induce man to plead.
the Judgment Of the law was read over to him -
| he stood at the bar. It was thus wurded I. That
the prisoner shall be sent to the prison whence no
came, and put into mean room, stopped from tAe
light, and shall there be laid the hare ground,
4 without any litter, straw or other covering
He shall lie upon bis back. his head shal! be COW
cred and his feet shall be bare. Ono Of his arms
shall be drawn with o cord to one side Of the roem
and the other the other side and his legs shall ho
served in the like manner Then there shall be laid
| bear, and more! And the first day after, he shaN
have three morsels Of barley bread, witheut any
1 drink and the second day he shall be allowed q
drink as much as he can at three times Of the M
ter that is next the prison door, except running
| water, without any breads and this shall DO hi
diet till he dies; and he against whorn this ju2g-
ment shall be given forfeits his goodsto the kngs
| The last time that this punishment was Indicted,
was, we believe, upon shipmastar charged with
piracy, who, to save his landed property 10 his
family, remained mute when called upon to plead.
| In January, ITO, two highwaymen, named
spiggot and Phillips, refused 70 plead unless Tho
effects taken from their persons when they were
apprehended were restored 70 them. This waa re-
fused, and they, on their part adhered 70 theix
pressed to death but when taken Into the press
room at Newgate, Phillips was terrified and
1 begged to be taken back to plead, which, ~ a
se basn Y y
| companion, however, was pressed, ana bore the
amazing weight of three hundred and ,afty pounds
for the space of half an hour but when an addf-
tional fifty pounds was added bis fortitnde gaIe
way, and he also begged to be allowed TO plead.
The evidence on the trial was most conclusive, and
the two men, both Of whom were very hardened
robbers. were duly hanged at Tybnrn.
The following year another hghHayman nam&a
Hames, likewise refused to plead 20 his Indictment
! alleging as reason that the people who appre-
hended me seized a suit Of fne clothes, which
they are returned, will not plead, for no ons
shall say that l was hanged ii q dirty shirt and
ragged coat.'' In vain was the dreadful altaT-
native explained to him; he continued stubbornly
mute and was taken to the press-r room, and bore
weight Of two hundred and fifty pounds for seven
minutes, when he cried out to take him back =
the court. He there pleaded "not guilty. bat
was convicted and hanged.
A far more remarkable and more cruel case than
the preceding occurred at Nottingham assizes, n
the year 1885. A poor creature, commonly re-
puted to have been deaf and dumb from infancy,
was arraigned on an accusation OF murder. Two
witnesses. who were subsequently known 10 have
borne him ill will, swore positively that they had
heard him speak, he was therefore called upon q
his case most feelingly to the judge but the Lar
the subject being supposed to be Imperative b
was taken into an adjoining room, and Actually
pressed to death, continuing, says register 81 III
times, obstinately dumb to the last The lattei
fact, we think, most ineontestably proves that ths
wfetched being was naturally dumb. II
In another instance-and it Is the last we shall
, cite on the subject--a man was pressed to death
who assuredly was an imp0stor, SO far IS bis pre-.
I, tended dumhness was concerned. His name wa1
, Matthew Ryan. and he was tried, or should have
I been tried, for highway robbery, Of the kilkeany
), assizes In lT40. When in prison ne aneeted 70 ee
!. d lunatic, and in court connteffeited dHmhnass.
= The judges impanneled jury To tTy sgnetner ne
e was mute and lunatic by the hand Of God or wiz
u fully soH The Jury returned in short time and
Z brought in verdict of wilfa and affected dumb
g ness and lunacy. The judges on this desired the
e prisoner to Plead but be still pretended to be IN
e sensible to oil that said t.. him. The law now
called for the peiise forte e diirs but the judges
u oompassionately deferred awarding tuntil futurs
+ day, in the hope that he might in the meantime
J acquire more Just sense Ct bis situation. But
their delay had not the intended effect. He re-
: fused to plead when next brought up, and was
pressed to death two days subsequently IN Kilkenny
market place. As the weights Hnrs heaping on
the wretohed man, he earnestly sappliaated to ha
hanged; but it being beyond the power Of The
sheriff to deviate from the mode Of punishment
prescribed in the sentence, even this WAS an iadnl
! gence which could no longer be- granted to hima