Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1872-10-01
kilIfng no Murder

The rapid manner In which the catalogue of
excuses for homicide formerly called murder
l. being enlarged IL illustrated BY two cases In
Virginia within the last month. In the first case
the brOth,r OF young lady who ran away with
a married man shot the offender, while the
latter va, In Jail waiting for trial According
20 the cod OF unwritten law this act was quite
iusutable before modern jury. To be sure,
the fact that the avenger shot his helpless victim
repeatedly through the bars Of his cell. deprived
the deed ct some OF the glamour of heroism, and
gave II faint, even, Of sowsrdlce, but the jury
dii not seem TO think that the Indian nature of
the strategy barred It from ranking as justifable
homicide.
The second case presents some peculiarities
On the III Of May, last, one DIR. Spindle, OF
FreepOrt, Va, or his daughter Maria Ella. gave
= party, az which the two suitors Of the daugh-
ter-a NJ. Tinsley and n Capt. Duer-were
present. Mr.. Tinsley would seem to have been
the favored lover, at least he was allowed the
privilege by the fair Maria Ella of remaining
with her after the party had separated. Capt.
Duer, probably little jealous Of his favored
rival, fingered at the rear OF the building, and
Keeping through the window Of the back psrlor
saw some Objectionable endesrments between
the two. which fact he afterwards reported to
the father Of Maria Ella. On the first day of
August Tinsley met Capt. Duer at Freeport and
demanded that he retract his statements con-
corning Miss Spindle and himself. Duer
answered, George, l cannot take back the
truth" You must take II back die ;" said
Tinsley. Blows followed, and in the course of
tie conflict Duer, who was unarmed, was shot,
and died in . day or two after. Tinsley was
indicted and tried for murder. Henry A. Wise
and a number of other eminent lawyers appeared
a. his counsel. He was admitted 10 bail in the
~.Ilo ~ ,lO
the trial the jury, after a brief absence, foand
him " not guilty."
Now, there are pulling points about this
case. though the Virginia jury settled it so
promptly. In a similar case at Cincinnati.
lately, il will be remembered jealous lover by
the name of Bond, who, by vigilant peeping,
detected the Rev. Mr.. Thompson kissing his
betrothed, went Tor the reverend gentleman
with his Ratchet, and was acquitted on the
ground OF parONysma. insanity, brought on by
the aggrayating sight presented through the
key-h1le. But in Virginia il seems all this is
changed. IL i not The guilty party who is to be
hatcheted OF shot. but the man who is so indls-
Greet az TO peer in and see what is improper
10 be seen. This is reversing the punishment
prescribed in the Mosaic code for those guilty of
violation of the seventh commandment very
decidedly. But as the pesping took place in
May and the shooting did not follow until
August, it is difficult TO see how the Solons OF
the Virginia jury could figure out a case of
ParoNysmal or any other insanity on behalf OF
TiLsley. They might, indeed, have defined iC
as case Of PeepophObis-that is, phobis on
the part of Tinsley against peeping. To this
also was added, perhaps, a touch OF Yankee
phobia, puer being u northern man, and the
result was a mental condition that, in the opin-
iOr OF this sagacious Virginia jury, made his
killing Of Duer a most natural and entirely
uneNcept enable proceeding.