The Portland daily press., 1869-01-29
Capital Punishment.

In the Superior Court at Portland, Maine,
on Saturday, Samuel Hill was sentenced to
death by hanging for the crime of arson. No
one perished by the fire which Hill set, and
the sentence is therefore considered severe,
but it is very probable that it will be commu-
ted to life imprisonment, as the public senti-
ment Of Maine is indisposed to,card capital
executions.
Edward Murphy has just been discharged
from the Michigan State Prison, where he
had been confined seven years and a half, on
a charge OF murder, of which he was entirely
innocent.
The above extracts from the Boston Jour
nal of Monday, are worthy of public attention
now that the advocates OF strangulation de-
sire the revival of capital punishment in
Maine, which has been virtually abolished
since 1910.
In this connection, it may be well to re-
member that it is better that ninety and nine
guilty ones escape than that one innocent
man should be hung. One of our cetempo-
raries publishes the following instance of the
mistake of relying on purely circumstantial
evidence in capital cases:
A murder trial in England has recently il
Illustrated, in very shocking manner, the liza
biity ofjuries to convict innocent men, even
of a capital crime. In August, last laborer
named Cornish was found murdered in field
near the city of Wells, in Somersetshire,
his head beaten in with stone, and a man
named Bisgrove kneeling down beside him.
The story told by this person on his arrest
was, that being drunk the night before, and
finding Cornish asleep on the ground he bad
gone to sleep by his side, and on waking had
oil in ha apf M committing the
murder. 1t was ascertained that another la
burrr named Sweet and his mistress, wo-
man called Drew, had been in company with
both Bisgrove and Cornish up to or very near
the time of the murder. Both were arrested
The woman being called as witness for the
Crown, testified that she had quarreled with
| Sweet, had gone with Bisgrove alone into the
field and lett him there with the sleeping
Cornish, and had then rejoined Sweet and
remained in his company until both were ar
rested. Her story was supposed to be an in
vention Tor the purpose Of screening her par
amour Sweet, and the jury evidently believed
| til At the quarrel had occurred between the
| two prisoners and the murdered man,
and had been prompted by jealousy
| Sweet and Blsgrove were both found guilty.
| but no sooner had they been remanded to
| Jail than Bisgrove made confession entirely
exonerating Sweet, and corroborating the
woman's story. The confession reveals one
of the most extraordinary cases Of murder
| without any motive that ever came to our
knowledge. The murderer had gone to sleep
| BY his victims side. "When l walked up
said he, 81 was going away, but something
| seemed to tell me / must murder that man,
| and then | went over to the river and lound
| the stone and brought it over on my head,
| and l threw it down on the mans head:
Whatever made me do II can't
think. 1t was not for money. mad no
thought OF money" --,
Now the conviction of Sweet on charge
| of which he was entirely innocent cannot be
classed with TIE mistakes oil clrcumstantia
| evidence. for it does not appear, that there
apns nnu circumstdntial evidence aodinst hin
at all, except the bare fact that he was in
company with the deceased little while be
fore the deed must have been committed
He seems to have beea convicted because tn
jury wanted to find motive for the deed
and could not ind one without dragging hin
IN. They made up their theory OF the mur
der, and not being able to act it out with
single culprit they had to secure second one
Fortunately the poor mans innocence
made clear before the time has come to han
him.
The above is only specimen OF the man!
cases recorded in English jurisprudencs
where many innocent men have oeen
yicted on circumstantial evidence anu - -
ed, who were entirely innocent 1as, WE n 1en
cite a long list from memoiy. IN
n;nps. at Hull. England, for roooeis' Anona
Harris at York, England, for MURDER; Jane
c--no =, YORK. for burglary; John Miles a
Exeter, for murder; Jonathan Bradford a
Oxsord. for murder; VIM. Shaw at Edir