Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1868-01-16
The Layy's.Delay-A COnamen-
tary on Our County Jail Sys-

or not to be =" is dcbatable question, the
melancholy Prince of Denmark enumer-
atcs ''ttc laws delay" By this we under
stand reference 10 the perplexities and
endless forms through which and by which
the ends Of justice are supposed to be at
tanned In this country our constitutions
and laws have been stripped Of many of
the forms and ceremonies so cumbrous
elsewhere, every citizen being guaranteed
speedy and fair trial by a jury ofhis peers,
and il too poor to employ counsel, the State
performs that service in his behalf. In
deed, to avoid saying that which would
occupy great space, and which everybody
is presumed to know, it is only necessary
10 our present purpose to add that every
care is taken that no man shall be deprived
oflife, liberty or property except upon ev-
idence that admits Of no cavil. Especially
is this true in criminal cases, in which the
jury is always instructed to give the ac-
cuscd the benefit of a reasonable doubt, the
maxim of the law being that il Is better
that ninety -and-nine guilty men escape
than that one innocent man be punished.
In the history Of every criminal trial, es-
pecially where the terms Of court are so
far apart as in this county, there is pc
riod-that between apprehension and trial
when it taxes the judgment of the officer
having him in charge to deal with the of
fender in manner which will satisfy the
law and al the same time to avoid dealing
too severely with one who may possibly
be an innocent man. Even sheriffs and
jailors are susceptible to tie feelings of or
binary men, and it is undeniably bar,i to
deal with man whose guilt is improved
as If he were already condemned We
have such a case in this county, in the
lperson of one Snyder, who is charged with
the grave cfcnce of assault with deadly
Weapons win intent TO kill. The follow
ing narration of the circumstances under
which he was arrested is taken from the
REPUBLICAN, of May 81, 1866, and is, we
believe substantially correct
SHOCKING TRAGEDY NEAR ETSA GREEN
From Il friend we learn the particulars of
a distressing occurrence which transpired
near Etna Green last Friday night. A
young man named SNYDER was employed
by gentleman TO sleep in bis barn to
guard his stock from the depredaiioBs of
horse thieves. About nine % clock Friday
night some one opened the barn door, when
Snyder demanded, who's there:" The
intruder Immediately turned and fled, and
was pursued by SnyG~r, who fired at him
as he ran. Snyder fired nine shots, three
OF which took effect On the person of the
pursued-one ball passing from right to
LEFT through his lungs. another disabled his
arm, and third entered his towels. The
above is Snyder's story.
The wounded man, for whose life there
is said to be no hope, and who is aware of
his approaching end, states that he made
an agreement to stay with Snyder Friday
night that he was 10 rap on the back door
OF the barn, and answer TO the challenge,
Who's there:" that he did as directed but
instead of being admitted, SNYDER opened
the door and commenced firing nj him. or
course he ran, and Spy6er followed and
continued firing at him, with the deplorabe
result above stated. The unfortunate mans
name is Mcclure, and he is most respecta-
bly, connected.
The affair must he very distressing to
Mr.. Snyder. We learn that lie is stranger
in the neighborhood. and that his conduct
is very closely scruiinized He may have
been actuated BY the best of motives. or
they may have been the very worst. He
has already been examined before ESQUIRE
Holloway, of Tippecanoe Township. and
bound over TO appear at the next term of
the Circuit Court. His bail was fixed at
900, failing 10 give which, he is now
lodged IN the Marshall County Jail.
As will be seen, almost two years have
elapsed since the shooting took place. The
victim did not die, as was feared at first.
but he can hardly be more than shattered
wreck of humanity. For some reason,
Snyder has never been brought to trial,
and he has remained in jail through term
after term OF court. His incarceration has,
however, been no great deprivation to him,
as he has enjoyed almost perfect freedom
from restraint during great portion of the
time. His keeping has cost the county al
ready large sum, and is likely TO cost a
great deal more. But he seems to enjoy II.
iftax payers DO not. We meet him fire.
quently in our walks about town. and al
ways observe about him deyil-may care
air quite bewitching, while merry song
or merrier whistle on his lips exhibits a
compacent state of feeling within his
breast lie evidently feels quite at home
IN his position and apprehends no calami-
ties in the future.
In person Snyder is quite curiosity.
having no teeth and very little hair. He
is what is termed lusus nature. and. as
Tar as good looks are concerned, owes no
thanks TO Dame Nature We would not
suppose him capable of understanding the
nature of bis offence, for we have gen.
orally found that weakness of mind ac
companies deformity of body. One can
hardly find it in his heart to blame the
Sheriff for feeling compassion towards such
creature, and il is not for the purpose of
proving that officer derelict in his duty
that we mention the subject.
We look deeper into the matter. Here
is an influence at work which cannot re-
suit IN good. The spectacle is presented
OF an offender enjoying perfect immunity
from the consequences of laws inopcra-
tive and justice baffled. Nor do we feel it
beneath our dignity to allude to the expense
OF keeping q man well able to earn his SUI
port nearly two years in comparative idle
ness. Such an exemption from labor and
freedom from care is the hight of many a
ioafers ambition, to secure which he would
not hesitate a. any crime. Such burden
added to those of an already tax-ridden
reople may be most justly complained of.
| Ii Snyder is innocent, he ought long ago