The Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1869-1872, 1870-03-09
THE ENCOURAGEMENT.
wEDSEsDAY. MARCH o. 1870.
District Court Proceedings.

March z, lS7O.-In the District Court Of the
Eleventh Judicial District of the State Of Ne
~ada, the case of the State of Nevada versus
Thomas Heferen, indicted for robbery, en-
gagged the attention of the Court. This LAY
having been appointed by the Court a. tie
time for pronouncing sentence in this case,
the District Attorney, and the defendant and
his counsel. Thomas E. Gray, ESQ, appeared
in court Defendant was there informed by
the Court of the nature Of the indictment upon
which he was tried, of his plea of mot guilty"
Of his trial. and Of the verdict Of the Jury, find
ing him guilty of the crime of robbery. He
was then asked by the Court if he had any le-
gal cause to show why judgment should not
be pronounced against him. Whereupon de-
PENDANTS counsel moved for a new trial. After
hearing the argument OF counsel, the Court
denied the motion. The Court then addressed
the prisoner rs follows: ......
Thomas Hefferen, you were indicted by
the Grand Jury of this county for the crime
Of robbery. committed by feloniously and vio-
lently taking money from the person of one
Henry A. COrcoran, by force and intimidation,
on or about the first day of April, 1869. For
that crime you have been tried in this court
and ably defended. You were afforded, prior
10 the trial, every facility for making good
your defense, and during the trial every right
to which you were entitled was granted to'you.
Notwithstanding all this, the jury in your
case, composed of men of more than ordinary
intelligence, after n most careful aud deliber-
ate consideration of the evidence, pronounced
you guilty Of the crime for which you were
indicted. Having heard all the evidence my
self. / am confident that the verdict was right.
Had a different one been rendered il would
have astonislIcd me. II now becomes INV
duty to pass sentence upon you for that crime.
The law Of this State provides that every per-
son guilty Of robbery shall be punished by im-
prisOnment in the State Prison for term not
less than five years and which may extend TO
life. The question then ARISES as to whether
your crime was committed under such circum-
stances rs ought 10 call down upon you the
extreme penalty Of the law. or milder pun
ishment. Since the trial Of the case, ! have
carefully considered the testimony introduced
for and against you upon the trial. / have
viewed IL in every light possible, and / have
come to the unq ualified conclusion that Your
crime was unconnected with any circumstan-
ces tending To mitigate II in the slightest de-
gree. The evidence against you is clear de
rect and positive, and IL uncontmdicted, save
by your own unsupported statement. Accord
ing TO that evidence, you not only committed
the crime Of robbery, but committed il under
circumstances OF almost unparalleled heart
lessness and cruelty, evidcncing, on your part,
deliberate malice and an abandoned and ma
lignant heart. Both before and after the rob-
was unarmed and helpless, amounted to tor
ture, and after apparently Cutting yourself
with his sufferings, you deliberately shot him
down while his hands were raised in supplica-
ton. II seems as If some fend must then
have lowered near and prompted you. The
shot which you there fired has not yet pro-
duced death, but soon will. From the mo
ment yOu Indicted that wound upon Corcoran,
lie has constantly suffered unsptikahly; he
has never since risen from his bed; and after
nearly T. year Of agony he has rOttcd almost
TO n skeleton, with only life left To draw his
breath aud suffer on fthe crime of which
you have been found guilty was not committed
with the spirit and under such circumstances
~ call Tor the most severe punishment; if it
IL not mn extreme case, then ! 'sli at u loss TO
know when the eNirem" penalty of the law is
deserved. and what * meant by an extreme
case. Hear then ynur sentence:
IL il the Judgment al the Cont that, for the
crime 81 robbery, OF uhich you have been
'fOuial guilty. you IL punished by iniprisnii-
'incnt III the state Prison for the term of Your
natural life from the SGitG of your incarcera-
ton"
the prisoner was shcn remanded to the GUS
tody Of the Sheriff, with instructions TO nj
once convey him 20 the State Prison aud de-
liver him into the custody Of The proper Off
GERS.
State of Nevada w. Brobst. indicted for MS.
soult with a deadly wcapon-Upon motion
of Defendants counsel. case continued until
March 9th, and attachment ordered to issue
for dcfnulting witness.
State Of Nevada vs.. Susie Rapcr, and State
VI. John Burk-Grand Jury came into conrt
and presented an indictment for grand larceny
against Susie Rapcr, and an Indictment against
John Burk for the crime of murder in the first
degree.
Ordered that Susie Raper he admitted to
hnil in the sum Of two thousand dollars. Time
for arraignment fixed ut four o'clock this af.
ternoon
Grand Jury retired to consider further bus.
, Al foSr o'clock r. NJ, Susie Raper and John
i Bnrk were brought into court and arraigned
Time for defendants 10 plead was fixed for
March Sth.