The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-05-03
THE MILITARY MURDER.
The Real Facts of the KuIIng OF Minor
Paris.

murQer OF Aln0r Parls, on Broad hlVeT, says
Various accounts of the shooting have ap
peared In the columns Of the newspapers. Al
first, the versions of the affair differed widely,
and, In many points, were totally false; 6at
now the true story of the unfortunate affair
has been laid before the public In the evidence
! of the witnesses who testified at the coroners
Inquest. The substantial facts appear 10 be
these: Deputy Marshal Duncan, having oencn
warrants for Minor Paris. Marion Harris and
others, went up into the Broad River country
| to execute the warrants. He was accompanied
by a detachment of Federal cavalry, who, as
is stated by Major Merrill in his dispatch to
| the war department, were ''acti0g as q posse
to the United States marshal"
When the force reached the neigh6orhood
Of the Cherokee Iron Works, a squad of SOL
diers were st. toned at q point on the river
where q certain boat was lying, and ordered
by Lieutenant Benner, who commanded the
detachment, mot to allow any one TO take the
boat away, and to arrest any person that came
there. and not to allow them to 60 away, and
If they insisted on going, to fire on Them"
This was the rash order which Hamilton
Grider, the lance corporal, who was IN imme-
diate command Of the squad, testified that he
received from Lieutenant Benner. While the
squad were guarding the river bank, two men,
minor Paris and Marion Harris, came up, In
tending to cross the river In a boat, or to visit
| Paris's fsh-traps out In the river, 1t does not
| appear clearly which. The were ordered by
Grider to halt. Harris did halt, but Paris
refused to halt, and going to the Doat, got
In and rowed of into the river. AFTER ne
had got some distance from shore, the de-
tschment, having called to him repeatedly to
halt and come back, fired O voIley at him, one
ball inficting q death wound through the
hips. A short time after the shooting, Mar
shall Duncan and Lieutenant Benuer, who we
are told were asleep ~ at the house OF mr..
Latham, q few hundred yards distant, at Ine
time Of the firing, arrived at the scene OF the
occurrence, and the wounded man was
brought on land, where he died after suffer-
ing intensely for eight hours.
These are the plain unvarnlsned 1acN.
Now, 1t appears from this state OF the case,
which we take to be the true one, that the
deputy marshal, to whom the bencn warrant
was directed, and the only one In the party
who. had a legal right to apprehend tne &C.
cused. was not only absent at the time of the
attempted arrest, but was actually asleep.
No warrant was served upon Paris. NO
authority was shown which he was bound to
obey. The marshal who held the warrant for
his arrest was In bed asleep several hundred
yards from the scene. Had Paris refused 10
surrender to the marshal, the lawfully consll-
tuted officer of the Federal Government, upon
his exhibiting this warrant; and the marshal
had ordered the soldiers to Dire up0a him, and
had he been killed, the act, perhaps, would
have been justiaable. But the military were
aching only es q posse to the United States
marshal; and operating In that capacity they
could be used by the marshal only In case OF
forcible resistance to the marshal; and with
out bis Immediate presence, they haa no
authority to demand the surrendRr OF the
accused. Surely, It would be q monstrous
thing If citizens, it matters not II they are
accused BY Federal courts, must yield TO any
United States soldier who chooses to demand
their surrender, or be shot to death! The
veriest criminal In the land Ia entitled to
the. same rights which the most vtrtuous GILL
zen may claim. The law presumes MIN inno.
a shield about him until he Is properly COZ
demned by q legal court. The fact hat .he Is
charged with the violation OF an act OF Con-
gress does not place him beyond the pale OF
the law.
Upon this cursory view of the case, 1t ap.
pears to US very clearly, That t6e kllllog OF
Paris was not only unwarranted, but q most
reckless and ineXcusable taking of human
lite. The majesty Of the civil law ought to be
vlndicaied. and the duty Of investigating t1e
affair will develop upon the grand Jury OF ,ae
next court held In Spartanourg County. rue
poor man whose life was thus recklessly Is ken,
leaves q dependent vile and I'VE helpless
little children to mourn bis loss.
We append below Corporal Orders sworn
testimony taken before the coroner's jury,
April 10:
sworn, says: That he belongs to Troop L. 7th
q. g. Cavalry; that on Friday morning, the
18th of April, [ was tod by Lieutenant Benner
not to allow any one to take the boat away
and to arrest any persons that came mere;
not to allow them to go away, and II they IN
sisted on going 10 fire on them; Two men came
up. they had blankets on their shoulders; l.!
ordered them to halt; one man did halt, and
the other swore that he would not halt; the
mau ran; part of the detachment followed him
and ordered him to halt. and he did not halt,
and used the remark, The be damned If he
would afler that part of the detachment
halted him frequently; alter he had got some
distance in the river the detachment fred on
him; after that he showed signs OF being
wounded; Lieutenant Benner took q boat and
went out into the river after him, and brought
him back on this side Of the rlYer.n