American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-05-08

such circumstances they Counsel for de-
fence) held that no one of the party as
sembled was in a condition of mind to
coolly and deliberately form a design to
take life, such as in law would amount to
murder in the first degree There was
no enmity OF heart, no salignity of feel
ing, or spite, existing on the part of any
one Of the party assaulted toward the de-
ceased. Strangers to each other, who
had never met before; no old grudge, or
previous quarrel, to excite provecation or
malice, could or did exist. And it is a
fact worthy OF consideration that the de-
ceased and the prisoner had danced in
the same room, at the same time, as
friends so far as the circumstances indi,
Gated, but few minutes before The affray
commenced. There was no time to think,
consider or revole in the mind before
hand, with that deliberate meditation
which is a positive requirement of the
law to constitute the crime in its highest
grade The whole time of the fight from
its inception to Its close being only four
or five minutes.
Murder in the second degree is where
death cnsues from mortal wound in>
fieted with malice and upon sudden pro-
vocation; and manslaughter is defined to
be wherever death ensue from sudden
transport of passion, upon reasonable
provocation, and without malice. The
law admits the force ofprovocation-lone
to one to be felt by the other.
The law wisely makes these distino,
tions, and it is the duty of Courts-one
Of the gravest they have to perform-to
see that no verdict shall stand and pass
to the records of the Court as final. for
degree not fully warranted by the evil
dence. Their duty in this respect is too
responsI le, in a case ike the present,
when the life Of human being is in the
balance, not to cause the most conscien-
tious and deliberate consideration by
every member Of the Court The life of
a man-of a fellow being was in their
hands. Every principle of duty and hu-
manity call loudly upon the Court to de.
hberately consider all the facts and cir
cumstances Of the case, and the humane
aud wise principles of law as applicable to
them, aud then if they err, let their error
be on the side of mercy. Aud if they
had doubts, reasonable and fair doubts
upon a car, fu' review of the facts aud
ag Of the case, they should give them
to the prisoner. Remember, mercy is
the darling attribute of the Deity, and
should even be extended where substan>
uaI justice may be done by reducing the
offence to punishment less than the
x rene penalty of the law
Mr. Purvianco begged their honors to
bear in mind the extraordinary degree of
alarm and excitement and passion which
existed on the night of the fatal tragedy;
that the deceased had stricken down,
beaten aud bruised the friends Of the
prisoner Oliver was covered with blood
she'd by his violence; that, by sympathy
Of feeling. all this touched the mind and
excited the passions Of every one present
as well as the prisoner, and that if a death
wound was iufict d under such excite
mcut and provocation, it would not have
been upon such delberaton, ,prcmeditaton
and malice as would justify verdict Of
murder in the first degree. In all cases
Of similar character the law reduces, if
not below criminality, to manslaughter,
or murder in the second degree.
The counsel for the prisoner had all
confidence ic the wisdom, justice and
humanity of the Court, and confidently
relied ~ on their wisdom to save the life
of a human being, which has not been
forfeited, as we believe, by the laws Of
the country. They cast no reflection on
the jury. They were good men, said
Mr.. p. but we believe ii there had been
a more full discussion of the degrees Of
homicide, there might have been diff
f9rent verdict rendered.
Mr.. Mccarthy, for Defendant, followed
Mr.. Purviance. He said he had come
here under a'sense Of duty to his client !;
he did not expect to animadvert upon
the law, which was well understood by
this honorable Court, and which had
been so ably and eloquently presented by
his learned colleague who had just pre-.
ceded HIM But he felt compelled to
say, that the jury who had tried the De-
lendant, had mistaken the law and the
facts in rendering a verdict of guilty of
murder in the first degree. He claimed
to be man of strong nerves. but he
felt bound to say this verdict shocked
them. He felt Frustrated, in considero-
ton of the magnitude of the consequen-
ces of the verdict to the prisoner. All
the members of the profession to which
he belongs; all the intelligent persons
who had read or heard the evidence, were
dumb founded at the verdict They had
expected the Defendant would have been
triumphantly acquitted. The great mass
in fact, the entire body-of the evil
dence showed that it was fight brought
on by the outrageous conduct of those
who were killed, in assaulting the party
The blows were struck in repelling the
ierocious assault upon the party. There
was no no. evidence that j. B. Arlington
struck the blow,
Mr.. McCandless-said, when this case
went to the jury, We believed; and al
believed that on their return to thu
Court, the prison doors would be thrown
open, and the Defendant would have beer
set free When the bell tolled, on tha
terrible night, there was scarcely one Wit
thought other than that he would hav,
been acquitted; but strange, and beyonC
! ypoae1anf in fka Observation-Disclosures of chris