Maryland free press., 1863-01-09
washington County Court.

the hrSt degree, Ill killlng Agnes lracey' "aS
taken into Court to receive the sentence OF
the law, amid silence as profound as the
grave, to which he is so soon to be carried,
and before crowded Conrt Hall, Judge Wei
sci pronounced the following solemn and i'm
pressiye address and awful sentence.
Frederick Smith-You have been convicted
by jury of your country of the crime of
murder in the first degree, and to day you
have been brought into Court for tho purpose
Of receiving the Judgment which the law re-
quires me to pronounce in your case. Have
you any reason TO assign, why tho Court
should not now proceed to pass sentence upon
you
No reason being assigned the Court proceed
cd. YCu are aware of the penalty of the Of
fence of which you have been found guilty
For the first time, since l have been clothed
with the judicial functions, has the solemn
duty, which am now about to perform, been
imposed upon me. Gladly would avoid it,
but as the organ of the law through which it
speaks, the occasion must be met and that
duty performed. From inability, or want of
disposition you had not employed Counsel for
your defence Able counsel were thcrcupon
assigned you by the Court. They engaged
in your defence with all the skill and earnest
ness which would have been manifested had
they been your paid advocates. All the tests
to secure an unprejudicod jury - -. ,ho in'
PRODUCTION of testimony which was not legal
ly and properly admissible. After calm and
patient investigation the jury pronounced you
guilty of murder in the fist degree. They
found no difficulty in arriving at this conclu-
SION So clear was the proof, so connected
and strong the chain of testimony, that twelve
minds at once concurred in the conviction
Not the least room was left for doubt or hcsi-
fancy. Indeed you yourself had tried your
own case and pronounced your own doem.-
The fact of the killing, fresh and murderous
was obvious-your agency in it drect-your
! admissions that the deed was accomplished by
your own hand, in pursuance of a deliberate
purpose with full knowledge of the consc-
qucncc, completed the measure Of proof =
You had pcrpctratcd the act and counted the
cost. The annals of crime have scarcely pre-
sentcd case similar to yours in coolncss and
dclibcration Of purpose and in completeness
of execution.
The ruling motive, which impcllcd YOU TO
this foul deed, has not been clearly disclosed
The secret is still with you and You may bear
il hence, and lock it from human ken, in the
cold and impenetrablc silence of the grave
Nor is it necessary, however curious the
mind may he to discuss The spring of so rash
anil ,tnl nrt thnt FL, I, Il,
lie.
The formed design to take The life of II fell
low being, and the consequent act resulting
in her dca til, are sufficient to call for that ret
ribution which all law, Divine and human,
Ihctcs ont to the pcrpetrator.
In reviewing the facts presented on your
trial, no heart, however obduratc, can be in
sensible W the emotions which they excite
The victim of your fell purpose was a young
and cuniding female, the joy of mountain
home, and the solacc and comfort of her pa.
rents. You had, (whcthcr Ifghtruhy tn
ala not appear) contracted passion for her
Whether she returned it, or what yscrethc OBJ
staclcs to an honorable union, is best known
to Yourself There was certainly nothing on
her part so far as the proof disclosed, to pro-
woke unkind feelings OF yours You profess
sed and declared an attachment for her, and
not only that, you declared you had nothing
against her, and yet III moment when she
least suspected your design and in a spot
TO which she was lurcd by seemingly fficndlv
promise, You placed the deadly weapon to
her head and III an instant, quick as the flash
from the pan, was she lIfclcss Object at Your
feet Embraced by one arm as in Seeming
fondncss the hand of the other sent the lcadc:r
messenger of death to her brain, ere she was
aware that aught but affection was intended.
No rcproving word had time to form OH her
lips, no anguish dartcd from her eye. Both
were sealed in instant death. SO sure, SO sud
den was your aim, SO vital the spot selected
for it. \ few moments before she had wen"
dcd her way chccrfully along the mountain
dciilc, with q youthful companion, on an er.
rand of Kindness to 4 sick relative. Her
course was impcded by your presence, and re-
tracing her steps, she E-r-pu,suea by you, and
with the promise froni'you of iaparting Sc
crct, she contidingly retired to thcspot yort Sc
lcctcd. there only to learn the great secret Of
eternity. She had no warning of her fate:
You gave her no chance to implore you for
mercy
She was causclessly, ruthlcssly, cruelty dcs-
poiled of life, as dear to her, as life can be to
any one, and other hearts were made to bleed
at the loss you inflicted on them. Whatever
were the relations OF Agnes Tracy to you, all
lamcntcd her fate. You alone seem to be the
only exception. Why this mountain flower
should have been thus suddenly cnt down in
its vcrnal beauty, by him, who should hare
cherished and guarded it, and who professcd
for it all admiration and 1--we, is an enigma to
be solved at higher than any earthly tribu-
nal.
Death is the lot of allAsooner or later the
living forms ROW here and all that inhabit the
globe, must return to their kindred dust. =
But in what mGncrl The death bed of the
good man, and Christian, we do not contcm-
plate with awe. Death places crown upoi
the brow of virtue, and all call it blessed, an
honorable death at home, or on the battle field