The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-05-01
Wen dell Phillips on tLe Hanging Of Green.

vslL, alter havinP snatcaed a responsibility from
which the generous 'ouee OF Governor Andrew,
your predecessor, had IN subs 9nce, sie ded you -io
vain do aliempt 10 hide yourself behind lesal
technical les and the nuthort OF courts. The Con.
sbtuion OF Massachusetts 0ves with the Governor
and LOuncil the final decision whether man shall
he hanged. Whenever mere law wouid work iDjus.
lCe, yOu are charged WITH the duty ot seeing that
SG6StUn justice is done.
In tie foim winch this case finally took, we, the
citizens, have nothing to do WI b courts. The Gov
elIor ana Council la Qod Edward w. Green in @
tIueT sense than any other Governor o. Council ever
IL is Io ling TO u.s. and no defense to you that the
Chez Justice qulbb ed away the humane intent of
the statute OF 1858 setting at naug the for the
cor siI uci OF statutes. and ignoring wholly the
practice OF states from which we borrowed the law.
Our gtatute Of 1868 is copi from that of States
SheTea jury always decides on the degree OF muir.
der ne dopOre tEat trreen IL the first man hanged
without jury PASS ng on this question of degree
any ot.l6 whose statute resembles ours and that
thus judge made law dehas tho statute
We en- nsh all Que resnect for the decisions Of our
oh, t1e Gours and would not nr. presume 20
siEs@S" N"' Wen nfe ana death are HI
.,Cry man IS htlu TO plain speech cannot out ro-
member that the party with wuich have the nonor TO
lie tssOcla ed las, within twenty years Presumed TO
doubt more thai dozen oplnons of our bench and
tla OF the Unions DDd IN al thos cases these courts
WoUId now be glad OF an opportunity to reverse helf
dec sions and erase sad Diots hom their record.
RENE mber also that the time has gone by when our
Chef Justceship das earned by legal learning and
bIaiDs and that IT is now filled by man OF FORTUNE
mClelY because, account of MS wealth, ne could
AFFORD to take Office whose grossly inadequate
90 any mace competent lawyers aycid IL
hoes the court You hanged Green without jusd.
fable cause. Even the poor subteriuge OF tue una
nlmOus concurrence of your council Is no low pre-
tine We saw oUe.thrd of their Dumber leave the
COuL Gil q amber long before tne hearing was ended
lint auent OF the IN veslga ion and unVillng to risk
losing the cars even hear the petition OF man
whose hfe hung on their judgment. Their assent
was mere formal concurrence with your decision.
You, you alone hanged Green.
Massachusetts, dIvId murder into two degrees,
and pdDishes 1t with death only en- IN the first
degree-that is, when committed with deliberately
plemedltated mai ice atOrei Ou1nt.
he tnacts that "the decree OF murder shall be
foRnd by he jury" Such also the practice OF the
Stajes from which we borrow our statute. WITH
this law III view, let us state III een's case.
You bad evidence aid be ore you uucontradlcted
evisence thai Green though trusted with petty
office, had been always Incompetent TO per Orm IT'S
dutes and relied on help tor anything bevonn mere
Touuue; that he vas, both on ns moth RS and
Ia hers sIde descended from taDlihes thoroughly
tainted with insanity. Medical pei Is assured YOU
that though twentYsp1 years old, he ought to be
eassed with boys of feeO SIX teen wears of age;
that he was physical y, meutally and mora "
su0ht make hi fesDO, sibe to the extent OF clul
nH puhfbMeht, that to hang HIM wOu be vIndic
Lyebess ana not justice
sIx cleI gy men ali OF whom had sebn him often IN
prison, some whom Lad been hts constant visitors
curing his Incarceration, cOincded IN that oJlniOn
The VerE magistrate before whom he was first
analgned eXDIesseu lho shu belief; the Jalt rs con-
CURED; the detectives who arrested him informed
you that ], ne before thev had completed the case
against blm his e 10 hurried ON his arrest,
alRPlng thar Green was weak there was no nse in
waiting for comp ee proof, siuce be YOU be sure
charged The scene at his arrest confirmed this
view; both by thelr conduct i'll treating hlm like
mere child, and bV his
No testimony rebutted this NothnO impeached IT,
Ibis dwaIt in morals and mind was set before
1HIy Tie OniV clear, distinct. and abiding idea he
had was hat he XII ed Converse but not doibe.
rately. Lett almost by the few friends had
amer long solitary confinement, he. with delibe
rate purpose as he was capable Of pleaded guI ty OF
fuse to accept the ea and the Court suggests that
he retre with his counsel to consult Here the
NrDA gaAl-
showed ! is weakness and no humane ana beediuI
Judge woGid bav allowed anv influence % DO used
TO duce h m 10 change his long consd. red purpose
The sc upuOus aud delicate action of our Oench IN
its best days forbade 1T.
Green goes out WITH his counsel and after some
time, consents to the formal plea of guilty the first
degree; but, as his counsel tells u.s. he added at the
same moment ms protest mat he did not lll de1be
Tately. 10 the last hour o his lie he always
affirmed hat he never intended to plead guilty to
deliberate murder.
Now how stands the case2 Here was moral
and meniai dwarf horn IN the hot bed OF nsanIGV
never tired by Jury-eonyicted, wlthOu trial on
never meant to make-a plea VIII ch eminent law
yeIs, among them The highest cri nnal aut ortY in
New ELRlanO, assert that lie never did make in any
true legal senses lea which his alb and honest
counsel assures us he never should have advised or
allowed Green 10 make had he known what you. sir,
now know
such men-no-such dwart-vou hang HIS
tory looking back on bar Ct lawyers manv OF
whom Oeny that Green was ever le ally convicted,
must cle eep through the special pleading Oench
Of cunning judges 10 find how you ever got any legal
Green was never tired by jury. The only trial
resembling Jury tral that no ever had. was be
Governor Andrews CouDci. That was the first
al only BODY Which ever investigated the facts of
his case, and one-thIrd OF that body ADVISED Gov.
eInor Andrew to commute his sentence IT, IS not
unreasonable TO presume that the same result would
have 10 lowed formal jury trial and if 90 he
would have been acquitted OF murder in the first
dePree
Snder law wh'ch holds that every reasonable
doubt should acquit the indicted party and that
only unanimous jury can convict him, you hanged
man-nO, boy -dwart-whose case was never pre-
sented before any body OF men which was not di-
Vlded n The question OF bis guilt
Under a law Whicn holds that reasonable doubt
shall aCqu The addicted party, YOU hanged man
whose death-waITant a magistrate VIII m your most
partial a. NH eI will admit far better lawyer.
fused for fifteen months to sign Since Green never
had jury ir al and Governor Andrew is a magis-
tIate who, under q deep sense of official responsi-
bihty, had most conscentiously and thoroughly in.
Vestigaed his case, surely the dehber Ite conviction
of such nan might have weighed as Teasonab o
doubt III the mind OF one not over anxious to hang
q fellOW.b beingW
do mot believe a case can be found In any State
OF this Union, where Governor has ordered TO exc
cuhon one whose case his predecessor had tho.
ROUGHLY examined, apd refused 10 sign death. war.
rant. Such proceeding violates, in substance, the
first rule of the common law, that reasonable doubt
saves the party.
You hanged man whom no jury, knowing what
you did the hour you signed his deGth-warrant
would ever have convicted OF murder the frat
degree lined anywhere in the State the hour YOU
signed hls warrant Green would have b. acquI tea
OF capita crime. This you are lawyer enough Ia
know; this three quarters OF the criminal lawyers OF
the State will tell YOU
dwarf-never tried but to be acquitted-in
hoeheed INTO pea he never intended to make-ouC
which Keen lawyers contend he never did pake-a
man whom his counsel besOught Government tC
spare because, knowing what he does, he never
would have allowed Green to plead Puilty-such
one making your way through all the barriers the
generosly Oh our predecessor had put between you