The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-12-31
CLEAR sTATEMENTroF THE CASE BY
COLONEL YOUNG,

81 se3i ,9a hti5I-T- % --ss~os,a aa I ,s.sz sc =
| On Monday afternoon Mr.. tBundY, Sally
Anderson's counsel, sent communication
to Mayor Chaboon, from which We make the
following extract: aaE.
"It was stated by your Honor, when this
| case was under consideration before the
| Mayors court, that Sally Anderson was held
/ by your orders, under your sense Of official
duty to apprehend all persons at'large within
| this city who are charged with crime and
you were pleased to say also, that she would
only be held by Won for a reasonable time after
notice to the Henrico authorities. The same
| general idea as to your authority and present t
intention tohold her only for a reasonable time
| Is conveyed in your recent communication to
| General Stoneman asking instructions in the
premises. Thirteen days have now elapsed
| since my client was committed by your orders,
| and the proper authorities Of Henrco notified
| thereof, and respectfully submit. that she
| cannot be longer held without violating her
constitutional right to speedy trial."
| The letter of Mr.. Bunay was referred by
the Mayor to General Stoneman with the
following endorsement:
| sa, Sh" #@a" "R1cHMoYp, December 2s, 1865.
| Respectfully forwarded TO Major General
StoneTnnn with the information that the
| statements of Mr.. Bundy are correct, and that
| nm of the opinion that have already held
Sally Anderson for reasonable time, await
| ing q requisiton from the authorities of Hen
rico and I understand that no demand will be
made for this woman. e-, s.r n.
| "GEo. CHAHooS, Mayor of Richmond
The following was received in reply from
military headquartersi: =
| HEADQUARTERS FIRST MILITARY DISTRICT,
I'sA'~ - estate OF VIRGINIA,
- RIoHaoSn, VA. - Decem ber 90, ls6s.
"7o his Honor George Ctaloon, --.,-,
.-sTgHTga% = "MaYor ef Richmond, Pa. !:
"Sir,-Inr reply to your communication Of
| the 23d instant the commanding General
directs me to say that he has no instructions
to give you as to what disposition shall be
| made of Sally Anderson. You will be expected
| to act in the case as the public interest and
your oath Of office require.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
rs. +. CHAPLIN,
-ssrf1 al "a" Assistant Adjutant- General"
The Mayor then, as stated in our issue of
yesterday, notified the presiding just ice of
Henrico county of his intention to release
Sally Anderson unless she was called for
by certain hour. This notification elected
an able letter from Colonel Young, Com
monwealth's attorney, which we publish
below: .... --
"HEyR1co COUNTY, December %, 1885,
" George GaAOo,a, Esq, y
''sNayor oftte city Of Richmond: :
date from you, addressed to George d. Plea
SAINTS, Esq, presiding Justice of Henrico
county, informing him that Sally Anderson
would be released from confinement unless
called for by the authorities of Henrco county
by u NJ. TO- morrow, has been, pursuant to
your request, handed to me this morning.
LAS the official s-dyiser of the county court
of Henrico, and Gifts officers, it seems proper
that should briefly state, in the form of
reply to your Communication, the reasons
which have induced them and myself, up to
this time, to make no demand upon you for
| this woman, and which still remain unaffected
by anything which has transpired while she
has been In your custody:
"SalIy Anderson was III August last regu-
larly convicted by the county court of Henrico
of arson, and sentenced to death, and the exc
cution of the sentence directed to be had on
the 18th Of January next. The court and
officers who tried her held their appointments
under the laws of Virginia, and were exer-
Gisng their several funetiens under @ the exi &
Commanding this military district. The pro.
ceedngs in the case were regular and accord
ing to established usage, and though the prt-
soner was defended by able counsel, no effort
has been made to reverse the sentence by
appeal TO any other court. In this condition
of affairs the prisoner applied to udge Under
wood for 4 writ of hubedS corpus upon the
ground that the court was not n legally con.
stituted tribunal, one of its members and the
Commemorative, attorney and clerk beiI &
alleged to be incapable of holding their offices
underline PROVISIONS OF tnS IOuT.eeul III dlneEo-
ment of the Constitution of the United States.
"Upon the hearing of this writ, Judge IN
derWood, sitting in the circuit court OF the
| United States. discharged the accused from
| the custody Of the sheriff, sustaining the
grounds take in her petition. He was asked
| by the Attorney General, after his decision
| was announced, to remand the prisoner TO the
sheriff of Henrico, 10 be again tried upon the
Indictment, which had been found as early as
March last, and consequently before the adop
of ~ ampnQmeut.
| he declined to do, but gave her an unqualiied
discharge; and the sheriff was in consequence
compelled t. abandon her custody. You have
| since caused her to be arrested as u person
| charged with crime, and the authorities OF
! Henrico' Q:e now notified that you will dis
charge her fss5m yoair tody to-morro" I'M
less she be t:Inanded by them.
eff such demand should be made 1t must
he for one Of two purposes either that she
be remanded TO Jail as q condemned felon, 10
be executed on the day fixed by the court, or
rs a person charged with crime whom II is
proposed again to indct and again to try. 1t
is obviously impossible for any authority in
Heurico to take charge OF her again for the
first of these purposes without directly dis
obeying the order of Judge Underwood dis
charging her from q confinement the only OBJ
lect OF which was to enable the officer to exc
cute the sentence of the court already pro-
nounced If it were possible for her to be de-
manded for this purpose, need not say that
it would be readily done.
% Can she DE lawfully ueIuduQeu Oy any d US
tice or other officer of Henrico for the other pur
pose, to wit, for the purpose of re-indictment
and re- trial? Certainly not, unless indeed the
former trial and sentence be In Iact a nulllty.
A prisoner once tried by p court having Juris-
diction of the offence, and either convicted or
acquitted, can never be tried again while that
sentence remains unreyersed. II, therefore,
Sally Anderson should be again examined by
Justice of Henrico, and again indicted and
held for trial in the county court of Henrico,
Ipc xuhn nyni and
ney for the Commonwealth who caused her to
be re-indicted, must be prepared 10 maintain
that her former sentence was Invalid, null,
and void; and in order to procure her conYic-
ton again before another jury, the court that
tries her will have so TO decide. In other
words, the county court of Henrico and Its
officers must maintain that their former action
was illegal and nugatory, and that the
decision of Judge Underwood SO declar-
ing was right This Lam satisfied the court
would never do. At all events, so far as am
concerned, l will never advise or aid in such
a decision. Apart from any considerations OF
self respect, such 3 decision by State court
would be most disastrous in its consequences.
II would be q declaration that not only this
trial, but all other trials had and decisions
rendered by that court since the 18th July
were unau thorized andiyoid. Its effect, even
If limited to this county, would De proouetiEe
of most serious results. II extended and ap-
piled to all the decisions of the various courts
Of the State since the 2Sth July 1T would be
difficult to estimate the amount OF confusion
and uncer tainty which would ensue. great
nuroher of criminals now under sentence and
undergoing their punishment in the peniten,
| tiary and iails of the Commonwealth would
| he forthwith released, and deadly blow be
| struck at the decisions of the courts even in
civil cases.
when compared with results like these,
the question whether Sally Anderson is or is
| lot TO suffer the. punishment due to the Of
g-nce she has committed sinks into compare
i've insignifcance. Certainly no one can
y har har